State of the First Amendment Address to focus on free speech, free exercise and the establishment clause

Michael (“Mike”) Abate — preeminent First Amendment advocate, defender of government transparency and litigator with Kaplan, Johnson, Abate & Bird in Louisville — will deliver the State of the First Amendment Address, 5 p.m. Sept. 26. The address is titled “The Rapidly Evolving First Amendment: Free Speech, Free Exercise and the Establishment Clause in the Roberts Court Era.” The James Madison Award presentation will follow.

The event is free to the public and the University of Kentucky community at the Rosenberg College of Law’s Grand Courtroom.

Abate has worked with journalists from numerous news organizations and groups, including the Courier Journal, Louisville Public Media and the Kentucky Press Association, since moving to Kentucky from Washington, D.C., more than 10 years ago. Abate’s career has demonstrated his consistent and unrelenting commitment to government transparency, most recently leading numerous efforts on First Amendment and open records issues in Kentucky. He has also represented media organizations and private citizens in several important cases on defamation, transparency of governmental social media accounts, gerrymandering and the rights of voters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abate earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his juris doctor from Stanford Law School.

UK’s Scripps Howard First Amendment Center, housed in the School of Journalism and Media in the College of Communication and Information, is the sponsor of the address, delivered annually in celebration of First Amendment rights.