We the People

Can Government Officials Pressure Private Companies and Universities to Restrict Speech?

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In this episode, Genevieve Lakier of the University of Chicago Law School and Eugene Volokh of the UCLA School of Law join to discuss the recent suspension of Jimmy Kimmel by ABC and the broader history and constitutionality of jawboning, the practice of government officials pressuring private actors to stifle speech. 

 

Resources

  • National Rifle Association v. Vullo (2024) 
  • Murthy v. Missouri (2024) 
  • Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan (1963) 
  • Rust v. Sullivan (1991) 
  • Genevieve Lakier, “Enforcing the First Amendment in an Era of Jawboning,” University of Chicago Law Review, Forthcoming 2026 
  • Eugene Volokh, “Jimmy Kimmel, the NRA, and the First Amendment,” Volokh Conspiracy, September 18, 2025

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