The threat or fear of violence should not become an excuse or justification for restricting freedom of speech. — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Being offended by freedom of speech should never be regarded as a justification for violence. — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Censorship laws are blunt instruments, not sharp scalpels. Once enacted, they are easily misapplied to merely unpopular or only marginally dangerous speech. — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
The law is agnostic about truth. It's very skeptical of ultimate truth. That's why freedom of speech permits lies to be told. — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Our First Amendment expresses a far different calculus for regulating speech than for regulating nonexpressive conduct and that is as it should… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
All speech should be presumed to be protected by the Constitution, and a heavy burden should be placed on those who would… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Individuals have the right to pick and choose which expressions to condemn, which to praise and which to say nothing about. Governments,… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
We don't have an Official Secrets Act in the United States, as other countries do. Under the First Amendment, freedom of the… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Freedom of speech means freedom for those who you despise, and freedom to express the most despicable views. It also means that… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Students throughout the totalitarian world risk life and limb for freedom of expression, many American college students are demanding that big brother… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
A criminal trial is never about seeking justice for the victim. If it were, there could be only one verdict: guilty. — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
If torture is going to be administered as a last resort in the ticking-bomb case, to save enormous numbers of lives, it ought to… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
Our First Amendment expresses a far different calculus for regulating speech than for regulating nonexpressive conduct and that is as it should be. The… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
I think that lawyers are terrible at admitting that they're wrong. And not just admitting it; also realizing it. Most lawyers are very successful,… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
Asymmetrical warfare is a euphemism for terrorism, just like collateral damage is a euphemism for killing innocent civilians. — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
I never had an existential moment when I asked myself what I was going to do. I always wanted to be a lawyer, and… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
It's a new phenomenon in America that states can now sue the national government and become a kind of check and balance on the… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
When it comes to partisan politics, everyone is a hypocrite. And all they care about is whether it hurts or helps them ... Is… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
Everybody says they're opposed to torture. But everyone would do it personally if they knew it could save the life of a kidnapped child… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
I think mistakes are the essence of science and law. It's impossible to conceive of either scientific progress or legal progress without understanding the… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
I never place limits on the potential success of my students. If they're going into acting, they're going to win the Oscar... If they're… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share
