In November 1974, a young Jerry Brown stepped onto a stage in a three-piece pinstriped suit to deliver the most important speech of his career. He had just won California's gubernatorial election, a pivotal moment in the state's political history. Ronald Reagan had been the ...
In this outtake from "Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely," ABC News Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Dan Abrams discusses how he admires his father for working on cases he may not necessarily agree with, including Citizens United.
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A singular figure in our legal landscape, Floyd Abrams has argued before the Supreme Court thirteen times and has been part of many of the most sensational and important First Amendment cases of the last century. His work has contributed to our understanding of the ...
Filmmakers Yael Melamede and Clare Smith Marash reflect on how their documentary explores the fraught history of free speech through the career of America's preeminent First Amendment attorney, Floyd Abrams. We gravitate towards material that explores the complicated realities that lie beneath the surface of ...
Known as the “first First Amendment lawyer,” Floyd Abrams has dedicated his career to defending free speech in the United States. Though the First Amendment at first glance seems simplistic, it continues to be the subject of constant legal debate, including several ongoing Supreme Court ...
On September 15th, 1979, Stephen M. Lachs was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Los Angeles Superior Court by California Governor Jerry Brown. Brown had made waves as governor through his various political appointments, pushing cabinet positions and other roles to be more inclusive. ...
Imagine being able to be the Governor of the state of California twice. For Jerry Brown, that’s exactly what happened. First as a 36-year-old. And then at 72. A natural disrupter, Jerry Brown kickstarted the national debate about climate change and spiraling inequality back in ...
During the 2008 presidential elections, Citizens United, a conservative non-profit organization, wanted to air a film criticizing then-democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Although Abrams disagreed with the politics of the film, he argued that Citizens United were within their rights to air the film, declaring that ...
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The New York Times sought the legal counsel of First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams after publishing the Pentagon Papers. The media organization was accused of being disloyal to the country, but Abrams successfully argued that The Times were within their First Amendment rights. The case ...
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The First Amendment is a relatively recent law; no Supreme Court cases were interpreting it until 1919. "We were making up, in a sense, First Amendment law as we went along," said lawyer Floyd Abrams. The law as we know it today was established through ...
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