Snapchatting Cheerleader Wins Free-Speech Case at 3rd Circuit
The Third Circuit ruled Tuesday that a school violated a cheerleader’s First Amendment rights when it kicked her off the squad over a profane Snapchat post done off-campus.
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First Amendment
Free Speech for US Charities but Not Partners Abroad, High Court Rules
Foreign charities are not entitled to the same First Amendment freedoms that protect American entities from having to make anti-prostitution pledges for U.S. grant money, the Supreme Court ruled 5-3 Monday.
Read moreUS Judge Slaps Virginia Clerks With $2 Million Fee Award in First Amendment Case
A federal judge in Virginia awarded $2 million in attorney fees against two Virginia court clerks on Wednesday in a First Amendment case brought by Courthouse News. The fee award was the result of a ruling that said reporters are entitled under the Constitution to see new filings on the day they are filed where practicable.
Read moreDevin Nunes Can’t Sue Twitter Over Fake Cow Account
Social media giant Twitter has been dismissed from a defamation dispute filed by Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, pushing the outspoken conservative’s hopes of exposing anonymous Twitter accounts even further out of reach.
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High Court Spurns Case Over Reckless Threats, Irking Thomas
Justice Clarence Thomas called out his colleagues Monday for turning down a case where threat convictions were overturned because they lacked an intent to intimidate.
Read moreArrested While Filming
A federal court in Texas ruled in favor of a police officer sued for First Amendment retaliation and excessive force by a Second Amendment activist who was arrested while filming another officer’s encounter with a fellow activist. The woman failed to follow the arresting officer’s commands.
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Reasonable Viewers Don’t Look to Tucker Carlson for Facts, Fox Asserts
“Remember the facts of the story; these are undisputed,” Fox News personality Tucker Carlson told his 2.8 million viewers in 2018, before labeling former Playboy model Karen McDougal as a presidential extortionist.
Read moreFirst Amendment Groups Want California Courts to Keep Access Open
While some courts have made strides to preserve access to legal proceedings during the coronavirus pandemic, First Amendment advocates say others are still withholding records and shutting the press and public out of hearings.
Read moreSpeech & Professional Licensing Weighed at 11th Circuit
The 11th Circuit on Thursday took up the appeal of a nutrition counselor who claims Florida’s shutdown of her business due to her lack of a dietitian’s license violated her First Amendment rights.
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Dallas Police Sued by Protesters Ahead of Trump Visit
Two injured protesters sued Dallas police Thursday, demanding they stop using less-lethal ammunition and tear gas on police brutality protesters just hours before President Donald Trump’s visit to the city for a private fundraiser.
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Journalist Blinded in One Eye During Protest Sues Minneapolis Police Chief
A journalist who was left permanently blind in one eye after she was hit with a projectile during recent protests in Minneapolis claims in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the city and law enforcement officials used excessive force and violated her First Amendment rights.
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Satanist Loses Challenge to Missouri Abortion Consent Law
Missouri’s law requiring physicians to give women a pro-life booklet and perform an ultrasound before an abortion does not infringe on a Satanist’s religious freedom, the Eighth Circuit ruled Tuesday.
Read moreHand Gesture
A college soccer player who lost her athletic scholarship after showing her middle finger to a camera that was broadcasting her game on ESPNU cannot pursue her First Amendment, Title IX and other claims against the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, a federal court in the state ruled.
Read moreBattle for Access: Opposition Tactics
In writing about our long war for access to court records, I sometimes forget to mention the obvious, that this conflict is played out under the aegis of the First Amendment.
Read moreFox News
The King County Superior Court in Washington dismissed a transparency watchdog’s lawsuit against Fox News relating to its coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. The court ruled the group’s goal of ensuring the public receives accurate information about the virus is “laudable,” but its claim “runs afoul” of the First Amendment.
Read moreDeVos Would Send Millions of Federal Dollars to Private Schools
Secretary of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is planning to funnel tens of millions of dollars of federal coronavirus aid to private schools, most of which have religious affiliations.
Read moreJournalists Challenge Puerto Rico’s ‘Fake News’ Law
Two journalists claim a Puerto Rican law, which makes it a crime to create a false alarm during a state of emergency, is so vague that it could be used to prosecute reporters for breaking news stories about the coronavirus outbreak.
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