Afghan war army officer defies chain of command in reporting ‘truth’ about war

After two years of deployment in Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Daniel L Davis concluded that the war was not going well and that the establishment was not telling the truth about the situation. He filed two reports with the Defense Department’s inspector general summarizing his observations and briefed members of Congress and  a New York Times [...]

First Amendment Center presents Romney’s views on First Amendment

Stances against campaign finance limits and the online piracy act are among Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s  views on First Amendment issues detailed in a roundup for the First Amendment Center. -db From the First Amendment Center, February 1, 2012, by Josh Tatum with research by Courtney Holliday. Full story  

Chicago Tribune censors Doonesbury again

The Chicago Tribune pulled the  DonorsChoose cartoon in the Doonesbury strip on the grounds that the cartoon promoted cartoonist Garry Trudeau’s self-interest in making an appeal for a particular charity contrary to Tribune policy. Trudeau disputed that the cartoon ws in his self interest since the appeal was for a charity that he was not [...]

Federal judge upholds ban on ‘I (Heart) Boobies’ breast cancer awareness bracelets in middle school

A federal judge ruled against a Wisconsin middle school student who sued the Sauk Prairie School District on First Amendment grounds for banning the “I (Heart) Boobies” bracelet. The judge said the district could ban vulgar or offensive speech under the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bethel v. Fraser precedent. -db From the Student Press Law Center, [...]

Former General Electric employee claims he was fired for whistleblowing in Iraq

A former executive for General Electric in Iraq claims he was fired for warning about a possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act while the company was striving for a huge contract with the Iraqi government. GE denies that the former employee was fired for his whistleblowing. -db From the Courthouse News Service, February [...]

First Amendment defenders line up against Stolen Valor Act

A number of free speech defenders have filed briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court contesting the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act. The briefs were filed in support of a Pomona, California water district board member who lied about receiving the Medal of Honor and 25 years of service in the Marines. -db From the [...]

Free speech: Federal judge gives ‘Sister Wives’ family okay to contest Utah’s anti-bigamy law

A federal judge ruled that the “Sister Wives family could proceed with their lawsuit challenging Utah’s anti-polygamy law. Because Utah’s Attorney General said the family would be prosecuted under the state’s bigamy law, the judge said there was a “chilling effect” on the family’s First Amendment rights. -db From The Hollywood Reporter, February 4, 2012, [...]

Oregon company argues that blogger who allegedly defamed it does not deserve new trial

Obsidian Finance Group who won a round in court against a blogger for defamation says the blogger does not deserve a new trial. A court awarded Obsidian$2.5 million in damages for one post. The blogger is seeking to appeal the award with the Electric Frontier Foundation filing an amicus brief arguing the judgment was a [...]

Free speech challenge to school ban on religious messages can proceed

A federal judge gave the go-ahead to a lawsuit brought by three families claiming a school district violated the free speech rights of their children seeking to hand out candy cane pens stamped with religious messages. -db From the Courthouse News Service, February 6, 2012, by Bonnie Barron. Full story  

Military retaliates against whistleblowers at mortuary for war dead

Officials at a mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, the entry for U.S. war dead, punished four employees for voicing concerns about the  mishandling of service members’ remains. The Office of Special Counsel investigated the incident and is giving the Air Force 30 days to punish officials for retaliating against the whistleblowers. -db From The [...]

U.S. senator begins investigation into treatment of FDA whistleblowers

After six current or former Food and Drug Administration employees complained that their e-mails were being monitored, Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) ordered an investigation into the FDA’s monitoring program aimed at doctors and scientists alarmed that unsafe medical devices were approved. Grassley said, “I write to express my concerns over your agency’s treatment of [...]

Student Press Law Center protests banning of Arizona school books

Together with other free speech groups, the Student Press Law Center is opposing the removal of ethnic history books from the Tucson, Arizona schools. The school district banned the books under a state law that prohibits courses of study that are “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.” “The Supreme Court has told [...]

EFF wants protection for anonymous in porn-downloading suit

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is petitioning a federal judge to protect the anonymity of individuals involved in a copyright lawsuit over porn downloading. An adult film company wants to determine the identities of 1495 Internet users. The judge ordered the individuals suing to protect their anonymity to reveal their identities before the suit could proceed. [...]

Reporters group disappointed in federal appeals court decision over access to Virginia state records

The Reporters Committee  for Freedom of the Press did not like a federal appeals decision upholding a law restricting access to Virginia state records by non-residents. The court ruled that the restriction was not unconstitutional. The Reporters Committee felt the court should have considered the effect of the restriction on smaller journalistic enterprises. -db From [...]

Federal court rules non-residents can be denied Virginia state records

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that non-residents have no right to Virginia public records under the state’s freedom of information law. Non-residents were challenging the law claiming it was unconstitutional. The two non-residents who sued the state were seeking child support documents and real estate tax assessment records. -db From The Reporters [...]

Gay police officer loses right to make First Amendment case after he was hounded out of the department

A gay police officer who alleged that St. Cloud Police Department refused to allow him his First Amendment rights to work in the Twin Cities Pride Festival even if he used his vacation time lost a bid in federal court on the First Amendment claim. The court did say there was sufficient evidence to pursue [...]

Illinois case greater threat to bloggers seeking protection of shield laws

The Oregon case denying a blogger protection under the state;’s shield is of minor concern writes Eric P. Robinson for the Citizen Media Law Project. A greater threat lies in a recent decision in Illinois. In that case the Cook County court ruled that an online news source that posted blogs on technology did not [...]

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul loses bid for identities of those posting online spoof

A federal judge ruled that Republican presidential contender Ron Paul could not force YouTube and Twitter to provide the identities of whoever uploaded videos with a spoof of Ron Paul bashing former candidate Jon Huntsman for being a Chinese agent. It is unusual for a candidate to sue in these matters given the courts’ tolerance [...]

Doctors uneasy about online complaints attempt to stifle criticism

Writing critical reviews of doctors and dentists online could make you the target of a defamation lawsuit as medical professionals try to stifle negative comments. Some doctors are asking patients to sign gag orders to prevent online comments while the sites are publishing the names of doctors using gag order forms and providing patients with [...]

Federal appeals court upholds Stolen Valor Act

After the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional in a separate case, the 10th Circuit upheld the law which prohibits lying about military awards. The opinion of the 10th Circuit judges cited a statement from a Supreme Court ruling that false statements do not get constitutional protection, “except to [...]

Opinion: NBC TV station obliged to run Romney ad the network objects to

After NBC TV station continued to air a Mitt Romney ad that the network wants pulled, they were charged with hypocrisy, but says Josh Gerstein in Politico, it’s not that the stations would sell out principles to make a buck, FCC rules say that stations have to take ads on a comparable basis from all [...]

Federal appeals court hands censorship tool to public colleges

The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals extended the Supreme Court ruling known as Hazelwood to public colleges and universities while ruling on a case over the expulsion of a student in a counseling program at Eastern Michigan University. Hazelwood allows school administrators to censor student expression on the grounds of “legitimate pedagogical concerns.” -db [...]

Public has options in dealing with Twitter’s new country-specific censorship

After Twitter announced last week they would engage in country-specific censorship, EFF’s Eva Galperin says there are ways to fight the plan including checking to see if Twitter makes use of the Chilling Effects Project which publishes a country’s censorship orders and puts it in an archive. Galperin also says that a user can circumvent [...]

Twitter censorship plan provokes outrage

To cries of protest, Twitter announced last week that it will take a country’s laws and culture into account in conducting country-specific censorship. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who is also the second largest shareholder in News Corp., recently invested $300 million in Twitter. -db From the Courthouse News Service, January 27, 2012, by Adam [...]

Family sues Hustler for $20 million for publishing nude photos after death

A grieving family is suing Hustler Magazine for $20 million after the magazine published nude photos of a model who was murdered by her husband. Hustler is claiming that the model was a public figure and newsworthy. -db From the  Daily Mail, January 26, 2012, by Daily Mail Reporter. Full story  

U.S. press freedom plummeted in 2011

Press freedom took a hit in the United States in 2011 according to Reporters Without Borders who ranked contries according to their performance. The U.S. now shares 47th place in a tie with Romania and Argentina. Much of the drop may be based on the harassment, beating and arrest of journalists covering Occupy Wall Street [...]

Federal appeals court rules Albuquerque public library must allow sex offenders

The 10th Circuit Appellate Court upheld a lower court decision that Albuquerque’s ban on registered sex offenders in public libraries violates the First Amendment. The court ruled that the ban was too restrictive and did not allow alternative means for sex offenders to gain access to the library’s information and ideas. -db From the First [...]

South Carolina prison newsletter wins censorship suit

A South Carolina county will have to pony up nearly $600,000 to settle a censorship lawsuit brought by a group who publishes a monthly newsletter for prison inmates. Before the settlement, prison officials at a county detention center only allowed inmates religious texts for reading materials. -db From the First Amendment Center, January 26, 2012, [...]

Sikh leader sues comedian Jay Leno for defamation in Mitt Romney joke

As Jay Leno was joking on “The Tonight Show”about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s wealth, a picture of the Sikh’s  Golden Temple Holy Shrine appeared on a screen. A Sikh religious leader filed a lawsuit against Leno and NBC claiming the Leno joke was false and brought Sikhs into public hatred, contempt and ridicule. -db [...]

Chicago Sun-Times abandons political endorsements

In a recognition of its waning influence, the Chicago Sun-Times has decided to stop endorsing political candidates. As reasons for the move, it also says it wants to allow readers to decide for themselves and that it wants to appear nonpartisan. -db From The Atlantic Wire, January 23, 2-12, by Dino Grandoni. Full story  

Supreme Court police arrest man for ‘Occupy Everything’ words on jacket

In an incident reminiscent of  Cohen v. California, the Supreme Court police arrested a man in a corridor wearing a jacket with the words “Occupy Everything.” For the Citizen Media Law Project, Andrew F. Sellars analyzes the case finding little basis for the arrest. “Here, in the halls of the very building that brought us [...]

Federal judge rejects San Diego election campaign donation cap

A federal judge ruled that San Diego could not enforce its $1000 cap on donations by political parties to local election campaigns. The city wanted to stem the San Diego’s corrupt political scene, but the judge said she doubted that the anti-corruption interest was credible given the natural connection between parties and candidates. -db From [...]

Whistleblower sues over firing during BP gulf oil spill cleanup

BP allegedly fired a worker for refusing to change data so that the company could claim the gulf oil spill cleanup was over and begin the restoration phase of the operation. The worker claimed a BP vice president said the announcement that the cleanup was over would provide a needed boost for BP stock prices. [...]

Government indicts former CIA officer for leaks of classfied information to journalists

The Justice Department  is charging a former intelligence officer with leaking classified information to a journalist. The leaks included the names of covert officers and their work in apprehending terrorist suspects. The officer is charged with divulging to a New York Times reporter the contact information and details of activities of a covert CIA operative. [...]

Muhammad Ali a central figure in unfolding of First Amendment rights

Muhammad Ali, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, “embodies the essence of the First Amendment,” writes David L. Hudson Jr., of the First Amendment Center. Hudson shows how Ali was at the “vortex of…First Amendment freedoms,” freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.  -db From a commentary for the First Amendment Center, January 21, [...]

Gap claims Kardashians too tarnished to suffer defamation

In defending themselves from a Kardashian lawsuitover the use of a double in an ad mocking the Kardashian lifestyle, the Gap is contending that the Kardashians have no reputation left to protect, that  they have already sought so much negative publicity that they are libel-proof. The Kardashians are asking for $15-20 million in damages. -db [...]

Senate majority leader stalls Internet piracy legislation

In a victory for the technology industry, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponed a vote on the Protect IP Act, the online piracy bill before the Senate. In effect, Congress is going back to the drawing board to balance intellectual property rights with openness and innovation on the Internet. -db From Wired, January 20, 2012, [...]

Appeal in the works in Twitter/WikiLeaks case

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are set to file an appeal concerning the U.S. government’s attempts to obtain Twitter records in their investigation of WikiLeaks. The ACLU and EFF are seeking to prevent the government from sealing records of their efforts to obtain private information of Internet users without a [...]

The Powerful anti-SOPA protests show why corporations, too, need First Amendment rights

BY PETER SCHEER—Successful technology firms pride themselves on their capacity to disrupt the established order. The reference is usually to a technological advance that poses an existential threat to an entrenched industry or way of doing business. Think of Apple Computer’s impact on the cellphone and music industries, Google on the sale and delivery of [...]

U.S. Supreme Court backs 1994 law granting copyright protection to foreign works

Rejecting arguments that a 1994 law complying with an international treaty violated U.S. copyright law and free speech rights, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-2 to extend copyright protection to foreign works. Google was among those against the law, but the government said that foreign works should receive the same treatment as domestic works under [...]

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