1st Amendment and Free Speech/legal concept

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Expert: - 5/27/2011


Question
Hello,
I took a few law classes in college and am trying to remember something.  I believe there was a legal concept that said when evaluating a case that preference should be given to the weaker of the parties.  Any ideas?

Answer
There is no real formal doctrine as such, although many judges may tend to give a little more slack when one party had more education or experience on its side.  There is a doctrine in contracts that ambiguities are interpreted against the party that drafted the contract.

- Mike  

1st Amendment and Free Speech

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Michael Troy

Expertise

I will answer general questions regarding freedom of speech, petition, or religion. I specialize in cases involving public employment or education, as well as issues related to campaign finance. But I can`t give specific legal advice involving specific cases you might have.

Experience

As an attorney for the Center for Individual Rights, I worked on a number of free speech cases, including Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia, in which the Supreme Court upheld my clients' right to run a student newspaper without discrimination because of its religious conent. I also worked on White v. Julian, which protected the right of people to protest against a homeless shelter in their neighborhood.

I also worked for the Federal Election Commission on several cases regarding the right to participate in the election process.

Organizations
Former Attorney for Center for Individual Rights.

Publications
Washington Post
Washington Times

Education/Credentials
J.D. from Univ. of Michigan Law School

Awards and Honors
Truman Scholar

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