I believe that under the #Counterman decision, the threat by a Xiaolei Wu impersonator against my life would still not constitute Constitutionally protected free speech. Pre-Musk #Twitter saw no problem with the threat when I reported it. https://garymcgath.com/wp/threatens-pro-china-freedom/

Any experts on #Colorado procedural #penal #law here?

Can the State in #Counterman introduce new #evidence when the case goes back to the #trial #court now that #SCOTUS has spoken?

Or will the court only look at evidence introduced at the original trial?

#stalking #threats #cyberstalking

The Court decided on recklessness.

What exactly does recklessness entail? According to #Counterman, "in the threats context, it means the speaker is aware that others could regard his statements as threatening violence and delivers them anyway."

#SCOTUS #SupremeCourt #TrueThreat #speech #FreeSpeech #law #lawFedi #lawFed #FediLaw

On the other, too high a standard of subjective intent for a true threat unprotected by the Free Speech Clause would allow speakers to terrify their targets and claim lack of sufficent proof that they intended or knew that speech was threatening.

#SCOTUS #SupremeCourt #FreeSpeech #Speech #FirstAmendment #TrueThreat #Counterman

In #Counterman, #SupremeCourt had to balance the risk of chilling useful speech against the risk of letting people terrify & intimidate others w/o consequences

On the one hand, the lack of a subjective requirement for a true threat might chill speech that was rhetorical or joking or art bc speakers could not be sure what a court would conclude about reasonableness and stay silent

#SCOTUS #SupremeCourt #FreeSpeech #Speech #FirstAmendment #TrueThreat #Counterman

A true threat is speech that threatens a specific person and that a reasonable person would deem intimidating. This is not controversial.

What is uncertain is what state of mind (mens rea) the speaker must have

Must the speaker have the specific intent to frighten?

Must he know that his words will frighten?

Is it enough that he is recklessly indifferent to the frightening effect?

Or are none of these required?

That is the question that #Counterman might answer

#law #lawFedi #Fedilaw

Prof Franks cont. 5: "And one of the many, many self-defeating things about this way of looking at the world or choosing not to see the world is to think that it's not going to come for you too at some point, right? That we're making this world a dangerous place for everyone. Everyone's less safe. .."
http://slateprivate.supportingcast.fm/content/eyJ0IjoicCIsImMiOiIzMDMiLCJ1IjoiMTAyNTQ3OCIsImQiOiIxNTg1MDY4MzgzIiwiayI6ODV9fGMwYjk3MTQ5NzgxNzgwZWM0YTRmYThlM2VkZWE3ZDc2MmM4MTJjZTUyZWJmZjk3NTI0YTFmMGM0NTI1NWJmZjU.rss #slateplus link (no ads)
@Dahlialith #scotus #counterman #SupremeCourt #amicus #slate

Prof Franks cont. 4: "And as you say, there are people sitting in their homes who have really never faced any kind of challenging or deadly situation who have been so pumped full of propaganda and anger and resentment towards other people and suspicion that if someone knocks on their door and they don't recognize them, their first impulse is to get up and just shoot them. ..

@Dahlialith #scotus #counterman #stalking

Prof Franks cont 3: "And I would say not to any kind of extent that people who are not white and male and wealthy have to, but but they are having to face some sorts of criticism, and suddenly that has become the most important issue.

So yes, you can have a member of the most consequential court in the land raising the issue of hypersensitivity with straight faces and not thinking about how hypersensitive of a society we are. "

@Dahlialith #scotus #counterman #stalking

Prof Franks cont.: "..That up until this point, certain members of our society never had to be afraid—not only for their physical safety, but also didn't have to be afraid of being criticized. They didn't have to worry about being excluded. They didn't have to worry about being made fun of. Their integrity was never going to be challenged. And now, a little bit, they have to worry about that. .."
@Dahlialith #amicus #scotus #counterman #maryannfranks #slate

Professor Franks sobering response: "Oh, they get it. And it's it's it's operating exactly as it should—that this is not a bug, it's a feature. That is, if the underlying view here—not the one that is said in polite society—but the underlying view here is that fear is good, if it's happening to the right sorts of people and it's bad if it's happening to the wrong sorts of people, then really everything here is fairly consistent. Right? ..
#scotus #counterman
@Dahlialith

Worth your while: John Roberts’ Unfunny Stalking Jokes at SCOTUS
A cyber-stalking case highlights whose safety matters to SCOTUS when it comes to free speech

https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2023/04/counterman-v-colorado-supreme-court-free-speech #amicus @Dahlialith #scotus #justiceroberts #Counterman #CountermanvColorado #stalking