Schooling the Supreme Court on Rap Music

[Commentary] In December the US Supreme Court will hear a major case about free speech, online threats, and rap music. Elonis v. United States tests whether the speaker’s intent or the listener’s response will determine if there has been a “true threat” of violence, in this case in a series of Facebook posts. The case is doubly interesting not just because it tests free speech in an Internet context, but because the briefing before the court has become something of a master class on Rap Music for Aging Jurists.