Court Opinion

ID: 9514790
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 22:51:42.357117+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:06:20.804045
License: Public Domain

MILLER, Chief Justice
(concurring specially)
[¶ 36.] While I do not condone the defendant’s actions in this case, it is important to remember that the issue here is not whether she committed the crime with which she was charged. The issue is whether the trial court erred in granting a new trial because it failed to give an instruction on the First Amendment. Clearly, the defendant would have been Constitutionally permitted to broadcast her message standing on a soap box in the town square or even via a television or radio spot. How can she be denied the right to have a jury be aware of her First Amendment protections?..