California assembly passes law restricting reckless driving paparazzi

A Deadline Hollywood columnist writes that notwithstanding the California legislature’s newly passed law imposing criminal penalties on paparazzi for driving recklessly, editors and the public are responsible for the excesses. -db
Deadline Hollywood
Commentary
August 31, 2010
By Nikki Finke
The California Assembly today passed AB 2479 by a margin of 43-13 to impose penalties of up to [...]

Law research center releases paper on news aggregating

The Citizen Media Law Center has released a white paper on hot news misappropriation and copyright infringement to suggest “best practices” for those aggregating the news. -db
Citizen Media Law Center
Press Release
August 30, 2010
By Kimberley Isbell
As anyone who has been following the debate regarding the “future of journalism” knows, there have been a lot of [...]

Florida: Losing politician sues newspapers for libel

After losing a hotly contested battle in the Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate, a Florida businessman is preparing a lawsuit against the St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald charging they libeled him in reporting his business activities which cost him the election.  -db
The New York Times
August 31, 2010
By Jeremy W. Peters [...]

Free speech: Federal court rules ex- police chef’s rights violated

The 10th Circuit Appeals Court ruled that the city manager in Laramie, Wyoming violated a police chief’s free speech rights since her motivation in firing him was to punish him for filing a defamation lawsuit. -db
Courthouse News Service
August 30, 2010
By Nick McCann
(CN) – The city manager in Laramie, Wyo., violated a police [...]

Man with impeach Obama sign arrested at Alaska State Fair

Police arrested at man at the Alaska State Fair carrying a sign calling for the impeachment of President Barack Obama. The fair allows political messages if citizens rent a booth and follow vendor guidelines but forbid political activities in common areas. -db
Anchorage Daily News
August 28, 2010
By Kyle Hopkins
Ten minutes of mayhem Thursday at [...]

Minnesota: Federal court rules against city’s ban on billboard extensions

A federal court ruled that St. Paul’s ban on billboard extensions could not be enforced because the city offered no rational reasons for the ban. -db
Courthouse News Service
August 27, 2010
(CN) – A St. Paul ordinance barring signs from having protruding words or graphics is unenforceable, the 8th Circuit ruled, because the city council “failed [...]

Concerns arise about California Assembly bill to control paparazzi

The California Newspaper Publisher Association argues that a California Assembly bill aimed at limiting Hollywood paparazzi would hamper journalists and photojournalists in transit to emergency scenes or breaking news locations by criminalizing driving infractions. -db
The California Newspaper Publisher Association
Commentary
August 27, 2010
Assembly Speaker Emeritus Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) recently amended her bill to rein in “out [...]

Facebook criticized for censoring pot legalization ads

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is charging that Facebook is failing to uphold the First Amendment in banning content that some “overseers” find objectionable. -db
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Commentary
August 26, 2010
By Richard Esguerra
Facebook is facing down another embarrassing episode of censorship this week after refusing to show ads submitted by the Just Say Now marijuana legalization campaign. [...]

State Department analyst indicted for disclosing secrets about North Korea to Fox News

The Obama administration has taken an aggressive stance toward individuals leaking secret information to the media. -db
The New York Times
August 27, 2010
By Scott Shane
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal grand jury in Washington has indicted a State Department analyst suspected of disclosing top-secret information about North Korea to Fox News, the third time the Obama administration [...]

Iran thought to ban reporting on opposition leaders

A letter from the Iranian government appearing on opposition web sites orders the media to refrain from reporting on two defeated presidential candidates, Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, as well as former President Mohammad Khatami. -db
The New York Times
August 25, 2010
By William Yong and Robert F. Worth
TEHRAN — In a further clampdown [...]

Blackberry dispute: Reporters Without Borders worried national security a pretext to censorship

Reporters Without Borders is concerned that in asking BlackBerry to provide access codes to governments, it will allow them to shut down free expression. -db
MediaShift
Commentary
August 26, 2010
By Clothilde Le Coz
Next week will be decisive for BlackBerry corporate users. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) could provide a solution to help security agencies in India [...]

EFF offers help to defendants in copyright lawsuits

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has offered to help bloggers caught in Righthaven’s copyright infringement web. -db
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Commentary
August 25, 2010
By Eva Galperin
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is seeking to assist defendants in the Righthaven copyright troll lawsuits.
Righthaven, founded in March of 2010, files hundreds of copyright infringement lawsuits on behalf of newspaper publishers against bloggers [...]

Attorneys general pressure Craigslist to remove adult service ad section

Attorneys general in seventeen states have asked Craigslist to disband its adult services section on its website since it cannot block illegal ads on the site promoting prostitution and child trafficking. -db
San Francisco Chronicle
August 25, 2010
By Everton Bailey Jr.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – San Francisco-based Craigslist should remove its adult services section because the website [...]

San Bernardino: Wife of ex-sheriff ruled a private citizen in libel suit

In a multimillion-dollar libel suit against Valley Wide Newspapers, the  plaintiff,the wife of a former sheriff won a ruling that she was not a public figure, athough she had a contract with San Bernardino County to provide counseling services to sheriff’s deputies. -db
San Bernardino Sun
August 23, 2010
By Mike Cruz
A Superior Court judge ruled that the [...]

Federal court affirms greater speech freedom for college students

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a university’s strict speech codes, and in so doing made a distinction between university standards and standards limiting speech in high schools and elementary schools in recognition that adults in universities should enjoy the freedom to engage in unfettered debate and discourse. -db
FIRE
Commentary
August 20, 2010
Posted by Erica [...]

Free speech: Electronic Frontier Foundation warns against California law undermining parody

A new “E-Personation” bill now in the California legislature would make it a crime to personate someone online to “harm” that person. EFF claims that the law would severely restrict online parodies criticizing government and big corporations. -db
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Commentary
August 22, 2010
By Corynne McSherry
A bill that could undermine a new and important form [...]

California judge rules against court in attempt to block publication of courtroom photos

A superior court judge ruled that the Los Angeles Times could publish photos of a murder defendant taken with the court’s permission. The judge said the attempt to bar the photos was unconstitutional prior restraint. -db
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
August 20, 2010
By Kenneth Ofgang
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge’s order barring publication of photos that were taken [...]

Free speech: Federal court upholds ethics rule limiting judges’ speech on right to life

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an Indiana anti-abortion group may not eliminate Illinois ethics rules prohibiting judges from speaking out on issues that might come up in court. -db
First Amendment Center
August 23, 2010
By The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana anti-abortion group has lost its latest attempt to block state ethics rules [...]

Blogger sued for copying news article claims license provided for republication

A blogger sued by the Las Vegas Review-Journal for republishing one of its articles has argued that the newspaper gave him “implied license” to republish by encouraging readers to save links to the work and send the links to others. -db
Online Media Daily
August 18, 2010
By Wendy Davis
A blogger sued for allegedly reposting a Las [...]

In court photo dispute Los Angeles Times alleges illegal prior restraint

In a brief filed in court this week, the Los Angeles Times argued that their photographer acted with the court’s permission in taking photos of a defendant charged with murder, and that any attempts to prevent publication of the photos constituted prior restraint. -db
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
August 19, 2010
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A Los Angeles [...]

Federal judge quashes subpoena for notes in “unjust conviction” case reported by Medill grad student

A federal district judge has rejected arguments that the Chicago police could subpoena the notes of a former student at Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism who worked to exonerate a convicted felon. -db
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
August 19, 2010
By Cristina Abello
A federal judge in Seattle yesterday granted a journalism professor’s motion [...]

Federal judge rules against Kansas law prohibiting nonresident petitioning

Citing the First Amendment, a federal district judge struck down a Kansas law that prohibited nonresidents from circulating petitions in Kansas. -db
The Winfield Daily Courier
August 14, 2010
By Roxana Hegeman
Associated Press Writer
WICHITA (AP) — A federal judge struck down as unconstitutional on Friday a part of a Kansas law that prohibits nonresidents from circulating petitions [...]

Free speech: Federal judge strikes down laws restricting protests near funerals

A federal district judge ruled that two 2006 laws regulating protests near funerals violated the First Amendment. -db
Kansas City Star
Aug. 16, 2010
By Mark Morris
Missouri’s laws restricting protests near funerals are unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Monday.
The ruling from Chief U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan found that two 2006 laws that sought to regulate such [...]

Free speech: Blogger convicted of threatening judges with violence

A federal court jury found a blogger had overreached in urging his readers to kill three judges of a federal appeals court for upholding a Chicago handgun ban. -db
Wired
August 16, 2010
By David Kravets
Three trials later, authorities have finally won a criminal conviction against Hal Turner, the New Jersey hate blogger charged with [...]

Free speech: California court rules mall’s restrictions on conversations with strangers unconstitutional

A state appeals court ruled that a Roseville, California shopping mall could not prevent a Christian pastor from talking about religion with three young women. -db
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
August 13, 2010
By Steven M. Ellis
The Third District Court of Appeal has revived a Christian youth pastor’s suit against a Placer County shopping mall that had him arrested when he [...]

Pulitzer winner Point Reyes Light trailblazes new financial plan

The Point Reyes Light, a small community newspaper in rural Northern California, is trying a new ownership model which they hope will allow them to operate as if they were for-profit but accept tax-deductible donations and foundation money. -db
Editor & Publisher
Analysis
August 12, 2010
By Mark Fitzgerald
CHICAGO – For the past couple of years there’s been a [...]

Federal appeals court tosses libel suit by cat breeders against Internet service provider

The 8th Circuit dismissed a libel suit by Cozy Kittens Cattery against an Internet service provider that ran what they said were defamatory comments about their cat breeding business. -db
Online Media Daily
August 11, 2010
By Wendy Davis
A federal appellate court has upheld a ruling dismissing a libel lawsuit by cat breeders against the Internet service [...]

South Africa considers law to muzzle press

The South African government proposing legislation giving the government wide authority to withhold official documents from the media and to imprison for up to 25 years anyone possessing the documents. -db
Bloomberg News Service
August 10, 2010
By Mike Cohen
The South African government would have authority to classify any official document as being in the “national interest” [...]

Obama administration asks allies to drop hammer on WikiLeaks

The Obama administration has asked Britain, Germany, Australia, and other countries to consider bringing criminal charges against the WikiLeaks founder for providing the media with classified documents on the Afghan war. -db
The Daily Beast
August 10, 2010
By Philip Shenon
The Obama administration is pressing Britain, Germany, Australia, and other allied Western governments to consider opening [...]

Gag order eased for man fighting FBI over warrantless investigation

A president of an Internet service provider can for the first time speak about a gag on his telling anyone he had received an national security letter demanding private customer records. The ACLU argues that without a court order the FBI should at least show individual suspicion before invading the privacy and free speech rights [...]

California appeals court allows publication of courtroom photos

The California Court of Appeal ordered a Superior Court judge to reverse her ban barring the Los Angeles Times from publishing the courtroom photos of a murder suspect. -db
Los Angeles Times
August 9, 2010
By Andrew Blankstein
The California Court of Appeal ordered a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Monday to abandon her order barring the Los [...]

California appeals court upholds conviction for fake e-mails

A California appeals court showed little sympathy for a woman who sent fake e-mails to herself in an attempt to influence a court proceeding in a family law dispute. -db
Technology & Marketing Law Blog
August 08, 2010
By Venkat
People v. Heeter, B213696 (Cal. Ct. App.) (Aug. 2, 2010)
Background: In a criminal prosecution stemming from false evidence [...]

Great Britain: Oil firms may sue for false rumors on websites

Two small British oil firms say they are not after legitimate anonymous postings but want to rein in postings on private investor websites that contain “calculated lies”  that manipulate share prices. -db
Yahoo! News
August 9, 2010
By Myles Neligan and Rhys Jones
(Reuters) Two small British oil firms on Monday said they were considering legal action against [...]

WikiLeaks case shows need for federal shield law for reporters

The Cincinnati Enquirer argues that the federal shield law now in Congress, while providing for national security and fair trials, will strengthen the media in its quest to hold government and other powerful entities accountability and make it less likely that sources go to “fringe entities” such as WikiLeaks to protect their anonymity. -db
Cincinnati Enquirer
Editorial
August [...]

California state senator proposes law to outlaw malicious online impersonation

In the wake of a disturbing e-mail falsely attributed to a Silicon Valley leader, A California state senator is introducing a law to make malicious e-mail impersonations a misdemeanor. -db
San Francisco Chronicle
August 9, 2010
By Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera
Two months ago, a San Jose Mercury News reporter received a profanity-laced e-mail critical of one of her stories. More [...]

California appeals court rules suit blocks legitimate free speech activity

A California state appeals court dismissed a suit against a filmmaker on the grounds that the suit was a SLAPP or strategic lawsuit against public participation. The court said the documentary film in question was a matter of public interest and an “activity in furtherance of the right to free speech.” -db
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
August 9, 2010
[...]

Texas cities blocked from joining suit against state’s open meetings law

A federal judge ruled that a group of Texas cities cannot join in the suit to overturn the state’s open meetings law because the cities have no guarantee of free speech. Seventeen public officials are challenging the constitutionality of the law that forbids a quorum deliberting behind closed doors. -db
Reporters Committee for Freedom of [...]

Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over profane ballot wording

A federal district judge dismissed a suit brought by  a candidate for state assembly who wanted to use a racially charged phrase in describing her candidacy. The judge said her suit was brought as a habeas corpus action which required a person to be in custody. -db
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
August 5, 2010
By Jason Stein and Patrick [...]

Free speech: Federal court rules woman obstructed police through profanities

The 8th Circuit appeals court ruled that a woman’s profanities obstructed officers in their quest to arrest her son when her words distracted police dogs searching the son’s truck. -db
Courthouse News Service
August 5, 2010
By Matthew Reynolds
(CN) – The 8th Circuit has reinstated a Springfield, Mo., ordinance allowing police officers to jail a mother for [...]

Political yard signs should enjoy First Amendment protection

First Amendment scholar David Hudson argues that local governments should not attempt to ban political campaign signs on aesthetic grounds or to promote safety. Ordinances banning signs on private ground take away a venerable and crucial avenue of expression in our democracy. -db
First Amendment Center
Commentary
August 2, 2010
By David L. Hudson Jr.
When elections near, [...]

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