On May 1, 2019, American Bar Association President, Bob Carlson, visited the Library of Congress in celebration of this year’s Law Day for an interview conducted by Law Librarian of Congress, Jane Sánchez. This year’s topic, “Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society”, focused on these cornerstones of representative government and called on society to understand and protect these rights ensuring, as the U.S. Constitution proposes, “the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.”
In their conversation, Bob Carlson discussed on the limits of free speech in a democratic society, the value of protecting all speech, even if unpopular or hurtful, the differences between speech and the press, and what it mean to have a free society. He also dove into modern practices in free speech explaining how social media and free speech intersect and contemplated whether free media translate into a free society. Throughout the discussion, Bob Carlson also spoke about the limits of free speech and the moments where a citizen can be held accountable for their words. To watch the entire conversation, please visit the link below for a video of the event.