Cartoons and Controversies
Last night, in a lecture entitled “Religion and Freedom of Speech: Cartoons and Controversies,” Yale law professor David Boies provided insightful analysis of the tensions between freedom of speech and the regulation of offensive material.
Post focused on the recent controversy over twelve editorial cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Rather than arguing whether the Danish paper was correct in publishing them, he discussed what the legal repercusions should have been, in relation to both European and American law, and how this issue is representative of a very basic tension existing in all democracies.