’04 docket includes 3 free-speech cases

twistedlibrarian writes “The free-speech litigants in the three First Amendment cases that await the Supreme Court as it returns to the bench Oct. 4 could hardly be more varied: beef ranchers, the Oklahoma Libertarian Party and a disgruntled former client of famed lawyer Johnnie Cochran Jr.

More First Amendment cases may be added later — possibly including church-state disputes over Ten Commandments displays and prisoners’ religious freedom — but for now, the three cases already on the Court’s docket represent an unusually small number. Overall, the Court has already agreed to review 48 cases in the coming term, and is likely to add about 30 more as the term proceeds

First Amendment Center