Professor Roger Alford of Pepperdine University recently published a post, Chief Judge Kozinski on the Death of the First Amendment.
Either Alford misquoted Kozinski or Kozinski went off the deep end.
Alford reports that Kozinski declared that “the First Amendment is dead.”
[F]rom my perspective, the essence of his speech was that, in a day when Internet speech is not capable of suppression, the ability of the First Amendment to have a moderating effect is now gone. What use does a constitutional limitation have on government restrictions on speech when the government no longer has the ability to control speech? (source)
Alford reports that Kozinski’s take on the First Amendment is this: Anonymous whistleblowers, judgment proof and anonymous bloggers, internet political speech, the Streisand Effect, and lesser profits for the corporate media all render the First Amendment obsolete.
Kozinski concluded by saying that we may disagree about whether this new world is better or worse, but there is no question that it is different. The First Amendment presumes that the government has the motive and the means to suppress speech. That no longer holds true today. We live in an age of the late, great First Amendment.
If Alford’s reporting is accurate, Kozinski is proving that he doesn’t have the judgment or intellect to judge a traffic court case. I doubt that the reporting is accurate. Kozinski can’t be that out of touch.
If the First Amendment is obsolete, someone give America’s SLAPP suit victims and obscenity law victims the memo. They will be relieved. Phew… thank god there isn’t any prior restraint in America anymore, eh?
HT to Kevin Wimberly.
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The Legal Satyricon 
Perhaps, Lord Alex Kozinski is not familar with U S(CIA) v Snepp, by the U S Supreme Court which kills the fist amendment by contract with CIA agents.
What next, anybody who Kozinski wants to silecne in the name of the First Amendment(GAGS), he imposes a CIA like contract to shut them up.(Hammer of SILENCE)
Google Sneep, Decent Interval, and related. Snepp has a new book, too on the silcence methods of GOV. Alex is a GOV official, you know…
Also, why is Alex mad about the release of the Pentagon papers, he never served in Vietnam(at all), maybe he could disclose how he got out (like Dick Cheney) in his next University Speech(AKA VIP Lecture), he seems to think the 1st amendment is only for his brillant clique, but should be used to silence the commoners,(the not so profain). What a twisted approach, but what else would any expect from Alex— very twisted in his ways.
Also, does he want to appeal to Bush to pardon Scooter Libby, because he shot his mouth off to the FBI, in some lying Bull baiting.(ON YELLOW CAKE).
Doesn’t Alex, as a West coast neocon, know some of his political club can lie to the Press—but not the FBI… ?
Since the WWW was so used to comment on his Lordship on high, Alex the GREAT, he just as soon the 1st amendment be declared DEAD…RIP as per Alex DECREES.
No law shall be made…. did Alex read that part of the Constitution…?
Alex likes the 1st amendment just fine when he gets that LECTURE ticket at universities, to feel like Mr VIP, it is now apparent, he don’t think that some groups of people, AKA citizen should fully have it….
Legal Satyricon is justified on wondering that His Lordship Alex is possibly unfit to sit on a traffic court, or a panty party web club.(ex officio)
Alex has done some pieces(law reviews) on: how fair is fair use, on Dr Juice.
He likes to toy and fuss with Congress, with Alex it is all about power, it always was, and power is his thing(for his CLIQUE).
Kozinski wrote a piece about: How he barely avoided going insane, some encounter with the traffic court system.
What is most ironic on Kozinski is his rants in the ethic charged case of federal Judge Maunel Real, who he has some beefs with, where he speaks about Government power.
Kozinski doesn’t seem to mind abusive power of the Dept of Justice, when it favors some rip offs by a big Corporation, more likely than not, hooked into big GOP PAC $$$ flows.
What is amazing is all the law clerks who have web sites who pander to the Kozinski games. Were they tied into that rot in the APPEAL COURT Judiciary, too ?
When ever some news org wants a quote it goes to the UCLA professor who was a Clerk for Kozinski, and he gives some self-serving blather, swallowed by some Bloomberg Reporter, or some other reporters, most of whom, have never been trial lawyers for citizens, so they are lulled by Alex the enchanting, who plays them as some P R Suckers, or if not Alex himslef some of his CLERK CLUB.
But, Alex is into “funny”, says his wife, the 1st Amendment is dead, are the Professors at UCLA laughing, or just spreading more Alex Bull ?
Hooking into the GOP Party, after UCLA, Kozinski has played Party political games, and his contempt for America is wearing thin.