"See You in Court" Quote of the Day (2)

This part is about the endless resourcefulness of conservatives in deploying the pillars of American civilization, but only to bash ordinary people over the head with them.

[T]here is a growing view on the right that business has a First Amendment right to lie to people. Or at least that it is illegal, and maybe even unconstitutional, for government to pass a law prohibiting or regulating fraud. I know, it sounds incredible. I admit, this legal movement is still in its infancy. But already some law professors on the right, like Charles Fried of Harvard, argue that this is one of the great legacies of the Rehnquist court. It's the principle of business free speech. It starts with innocent advertising and it can end up with the right to deceive. In one ERISA case, Variety Corp. v. Howe et al. (1996), workers sued a business for lying to them to take an illusory pension-type benefit. TO defend its right to mislead the workers, the company brought in the country's greatest First Amendment lawyer, Floyd Abrams. He didn't have to argue the First Amendment right to lie. His very presence made the point.

Thank God, his client lost—but only 5 to 4. With the new Court, he'd probably win the case today.

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