WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday revived a lawsuit from an evangelical Christian barred from demonstrating in Mississippi after authorities say he shouted insults at people over a loudspeaker.
The high court unanimously ruled in the case of Gabriel Olivier, who says his religious and free speech rights were violated when he was arrested for refusing to move his preaching away from a suburb...
The Supreme Court’s decision in Olivier’s case is a textbook example of procedural clarity—it doesn’t endorse his speech or the city’s ordinance but simply affirms his right to challenge the law’s future enforcement. This is a win for the principle that convictions don’t forever silence legal challenges, a nuance often lost in polarized debates about free speech. The strongest version of this narrative is that it reinforces the First Amendment’s protective role, ensuring that even unpopular or p...