John Walker Lindh

[Nic Name]

Court says gang speech protected by First Amendment

I wonder how this recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeals applies to Walker Lindh's membership in that Taliban gang and his discussions with his associates in Afghanistan.

The court pointed out it was mindful of the "serious problems" posed by street gangs and that it was sympathetic to the Arizona Legislature's efforts to protect its citizens from "the evils gangs all too often inflict."

"We are forced to agree that McCoy's speech, at most, constituted mere abstract advocacy of lawlessness, rather than an intentional effort to further illegal activity," Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain wrote.