Sotomayor defend free speech in wake of Kirk's death
Justice calls social media 'one of the largest causes of misinformation'
By: Maureen Grippe
and Dan Morrison
USA today
NEW YORK - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on September 16 [2025] jumped into the free speech debate swirling around the killing of Charlie Kirk.
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"Every time I listen to a lawyer-trained representativeness saying we should criminalize free speech in some way, I think to myself, "That law school failed,' " she said at an event on civic education.
..... Sotomayor did not identify any particular lawyer. But her remarks came a day after Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to go after "those who engage in hate speech."
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"There's free speech and then there's hate speech," Bondi said September 15 [2025] on Katie Miller's podcast,"and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society."
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Vice President JD Vance, who has a law degree from Yale Law School, has said anyone celebrating Kirk's death should be fired form their jobs.
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"Call them out, and hell, when he guest-hosted the podcast Kirk started.
..... Sotomayor called social media "one
of the largest causes of misinformation on the Internet" and said Americans need to know the difference between a president and a king.
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"I think if people understood these things from the beginning they would be more informed as to what would be important in a democracy in terms of what people can or should not do," she said.
..... Her remarks on free speech came in response to a question at New York Law School about the role of law schools in instilling civic awareness.
..... Sotomayor called civics a critical part of learning the law.
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"Because it is for that system that you're working as a lawyer," she said. "and if you don't understand how the system affects you and your clients, then you will never be in a position either to advocate for change or even to represent in a fulsome way."
..... Bondi has been criticized from both the left and right for her comments about free speech.
..... "Someone needs to explain to Ms. Bondi that so-called "hate speech," repulsive through it may be, is protected by the First Amendment. She should know this, Brit Hume, a conservative commentator, wrote on X.
..... Bondi was undeterred.
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"Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. It's a crime," Bondi posted on X. "for far too long, we've watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence. that era is over."