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I first met Ruth Bader Ginsburg at a constitutional law conference organized by in 1977; I worked with him in putting the event together, which was hosted by Southwestern University Law School. The stellar lineup of 35 participants included the likes of , , , , , , , and .

And then there was the ACLU lawyer and Columbia Law Professor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was on the Equal Protection panel along with Judge and Professor . After Hutchins died in May of 1977, it fell to me to oversee (assisted by ) all the papers that were prepared for the book, "Constitutional Government in America" (Carolina Academic Press, 1980). Ginsburg's contribution was titled "Gender in the Supreme Court: The 1976 Term."

This issue of First Amendment News is dedicated to the memory of Justice Ginsburg. To that end, I have compiled a list of her First Amendment freedom of expression opinions. I have also listed some of the dissents she signed onto in several important free speech cases.

Free expression opinions by Justice Ginsburg

Rehnquist Court 

Majority opinions

1. Ibanez v. Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (1994) (7-2: majority)
2. Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation, Inc. (1999) (7-1-1: majority)
3. City News & Novelty, Inc. City of  Wakukesha (2001) (9-0: unanimous)
4. Eldred v. Ashcroft (2003) (8-1: majority)
5. Illinois ex rel Lisa Madigan v. Telemarketing Associates, Inc. (2003) (9-0: unanimous)

Separate opinions

1. (1995) (7-2: dissent)

Roberts Court

Majority opinions

1. Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (2010) (majority)
2. Golan v. Holder (2012) (majority)
3. Wood v. Moss (2014) (majority)

Separate opinions

1. Reichle v. Howards (2012) (concurring in judgment)
2. Beard v. Banks (2006) (dissenting)
3. (2018) (dissenting)
4. (2019) (concurring in part/dissenting in part)
5. Davis v. Federal Election Commission (2008) (concurring in part, dissenting in part)
6. (2009) (concurring in part, concurring in judgment)
7. (2019) (separate statement)

Dissents in which Justice Ginsburg joined

During her tenure on the Roberts Court, in which she participated in all of its 56 First Amendment free expression opinions, Justice Ginsburg was in agreement with Chief Justice Roberts 61% of the time, as contrasted with Justices Thomas, Alito, and Scalia, who sided with the Chief Justice in over 83% of the same cases.

In those 56 cases, Justice Ginsburg joined in dissent in the following cases (among others) in which a First Amendment claim was denied:

• Government employee speech: (2006)
• Material support: (2010)
• Student speech: (2007)

In those same 56 cases, Justice Ginsburg joined in dissent in the following cases (among others) in which a First Amendment claim was affirmed:

• Campaign finance: McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (2014), Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett(2011), Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), and Randall v. Sorrell (2006)
• Commercial speech: . (2011)
• Compelled speech: (2018), (2018), , and Harris v. Quinn (2014)
• Content discrimination: (2020)

Related video

"," C-SPAN (April 21, 2014) ()

2020-2021 SCOTUS term: Free expression & related cases

Cert. granted

• (Telephone Consumer Protection Act robocall case)
•   (TBD) (standing/judicial elections)
• (TBD) (religious expression: free exercise & free speech claims)

Pending petitions

First Amendment-related 

•  (nominal damages and mootness in campus speech context) (cert. granted)
• (RE: Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996) (petition pending)
• (RE: FCC cross-ownership restrictions) (petition pending)

Last scheduled FAN

• FAN 271: "New and forthcoming books issue: The 2020-2021 list”