Imaginary Threats to Government's Expressive Interests. (Government Speech: The Government's Ability to Compel and Restrict Speech‪)‬

INTRODUCTION As the Supreme Court has recognized, the government must speak in a wide variety of ways if it is to function effectively. (1) Government expression also serves valuable First Amendment interests in enabling members of the public to identify and assess their government's priorities, thus informing and facilitating the public's participation in democratic self-governance. (2) For these reasons, the Court's government speech doctrine exempts the government's own speech from free speech clause scrutiny. (3)