Marine discharged after posting anti-Obama comments on Facebook

To preserve the integrity of the chain of command, the commanding general for the San Diego region, ordered Sgt. Gary Stein to receive an other-than-honorable discharged from the Marine Corps. Stein had established an Armed Forces Tea Party page on Facebook and posted disparaging comments about President Barack Obama. The case has led to a [...]

First Amendment: Prom dress put on rack for resembling Confederate flag

School administrators were right to bounce a Tennessee high school student from her prom for wearing a dress resembling a Confederate flag, argues Ken Paulson for the First Amendment Center. Paulson said the school administrators were acting on the reality that the Confederate flag is divisive and could easily lead to disruption at the prom. [...]

Former Alaska senate candidate sues to force journalists to disclose sources

Unhappy with his loss in Alaska’s recent senate race after winning the Republican primary, Joe Miller has brought suit against forces he considers guilty of bringing him down and to seek damages related to his loss. He accused a former employer of leaking that he gained access to a colleagues’ computer to pad poll results [...]

Judge rules for professional football star fighting attempts of company to end contract over controversial tweet

Pittsburg Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall won a round against Hanesbrands for ending his contract to promote their sportswear when the player posted a tweet protesting how people were celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden. A federal judge ruled for Mendenhall, finding that the contract could only be ended if the player did something [...]

Opinion: Terrorism conviction criminalizes speech

The recent conviction of a U.S. citizen for material support for terrorism should be overturned, writes Andrew F. March, a Yale political scientist, in a commentary in The New York Times. March argues that the citizen, a pharmacist by the name of  Tarek Mehanna, was convicted for his thoughts and speech protected by the First [...]

Federal court rules against policeman protesting arrest quotas

A New York policeman who criticized the quota system for arrests lost his case in federal district court. The man claimed the police department violated his First Amendment rights by retaliating against him for criticizing the quota system to commanding officers, but the judge ruled that under the Supreme Court ruling Garcetti v. Ceballos pubic [...]

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow files anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss $50 million defamation lawsuit

MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow is filing an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss a $50 million defamation lawsuit brought by the conservative preacher and radio host Bradlee Dean who claimed that Maddow distorted Dean’s stance on gays implying that he wanted to see them killed. Maddow’s lawyers argued that Maddow’s on air comments were “classic opinion and [...]

Alabama bans ‘Dirty Bastard’ beer

Claiming that the label “Dirty Bastard Beer” is profane, Alabama has banned the beer to protect the state’s children. -db From The Five, April 21, 2012, by David Allen Ibsen. Full story  

Free speech: Federal judge throws out charges against retired professor for ‘jury nullification’

A federal judge ruled that a retired chemistry professor was within his rights to stand outside a federal courthouse in Manhattan and urge jurors to vote their conscience rather than follow the law. The judge wrote that such general petitioning did not constitute jury tampering. -db From The New York Times, April 19, 2012, by [...]

Army bars rock singer from summer concert for comments on Obama

The Army removed Rock singer Ted Nugent from a summer concert at Fort Knox in Kentucky ostensibly for critical comments the singer made about President Barack Obama. -db From Politico, April 23, 2012, by Caitlin McDevitt. Full story    

Federal appeals court rules for porn purveyors in First Amendment case

The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that parts of two federals laws to curb production of sexually explicit content may violate the First Amendment. The Court ruled that the plaintiffs could pursue their case since the laws were overbroad and hindered the exercise of free speech. -db From a commentary for the First [...]

Kentucky: Federal appeals court denies teacher’s unusual defamation claim

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals took a dim view of the claims by a former Kentucky teacher that a principal had committed “libel by pantomime” by escorting her out of the building when she protested that she was not allowed a representative at a meeting. She claimed that escorting her out of the [...]

Federal court upholds ban on contractor contributions to federal office candidates

A federal judge refused a request from three federal contractors to put a temporary hold on the 70-year-old prohibition on contractors’ campaign donations to federal office candidates. The ban on donations was intended to curb “pay to play” and ensures that contracts are granted on merit, wrote the judge.  -db From the Election Law Blog, [...]

Opinion: Colleges banning athletes’ tweets are missing opportunity

Prominent athletes have embarrassed their universities with comments posted on the social media prompting the schools to enforce restrictions on the use of such sites as Twitter. Rather than shutting down sites or spying on athletes and invading their privacy, the universities should instead take the opportunity to educate them on how to use the [...]

Federal judge rules ‘whoop ass’ taunt not meet definition of harassment

When two military wives clashed with one saying she would ‘whoop ass’ and allegedly calling the other a “bitch,” the incident resulted in a criminal charge of harassment and ended up in federal court. The judge, though, ignored the First Amendment defense and ruled that “whoop ass” alone was not sufficient to cause harassment under [...]

Virginia man gets 12 years for making terrorist propaganda video

A federal judge sentence a Virginia man to a 12-year sentence for providing “material support to terrorists” by way of a propaganda video. The 24-year-old man had trained with the terrorist group as a teen-ager in Pakistan then moved to the U.S. in 2007. From the Washington Post, April 13, 2012, by Rachel Karas. Full [...]

Washington: Federal judge sanctions library Internet filtering

A federal judge ruled that a public library did not run afoul of the First Amendment in installing a computer filter for its patrons including adults. The judge reasoned that the special nature of the library makes filtering appropriate. -db From  the First Amendment Center, April 12, 2012, by David L. Hudson Jr. Full story [...]

Foreign Service Officer harassed for writing book critical of Iraq reconstruction

After publishing a book criticizing U.S. reconstruction projects in Iraq, Foreign Service Officer Peter Van Buren had his security clearance suspended, his Diplomatic Passport lifted, forced to go on leave and lost his access to his State Department computer. The State Department also admits that they are monitoring his private blogs, Tweets and Facebook comments. [...]

Whistleblower treated like traitor

When a Justice Department attorney advised that the American Taliban John Waker Lindh should not be interrogated without a attorney present, they proceeded with the interrogation then denied receiving the legal advice and destroyed all relevant evidence. The attorney Jesselyn Radack, was then forced out of her job, subjected to criminal investigation, reported to the [...]

Opinion: Out of compliance with shield law, Oregon blogger loses defamation suit

The federal judge in the Oregon blogger defamation case came under a lot of heat for ruling that the negligence standard did not apply to the blogger Crystal Cox because she did not fit the categories of journalists in the state’s shield law. But says Eric P. Robinson for the Citizen Media Law Project, that [...]

Newsroom census shows staffing at new low

Newspaper staffing in reporters and editors has hit a new low in the years since the newsroom census began in 1978. The count has declined by 28.6 percent from its high in 1990. -db From Newsosaur, April 4, 2012, by Alan D. Mutter. Full story

Homeland Security regularly harasses U.S. filmmaker at border

An award-winning documentary filmmaker has been subject to regular detentions when she reenters the U.S. and has had her cellphone, laptop and camera seized and not returned for weeks. The Department of Homeland Security routinely chooses individuals to harass without warrant or court supervision, writes Glenn Greenwald in Salon. -db From a commentary in Salon, [...]

Free speech: Nebraska high school students lose lawsuit over memorial apparel and accessories

After lengthy deliberations a Nebraska jury ruled that the Millard County School District had legitimate safety concerns in suspending two students for wearing bracelets and T-shirts commemorating a friend shot in gang-related incident. -db From the Student Press Law Center, April 13, 2012, by Emily Summars. Full story  

Federal appeals court rules anti-Bush protesters can proceed with lawsuit

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that anti-Bush protesters could proceed with the lawsuit alleging that their First Amendment rights were violated when the Secret Service moved them two blocks from then-President George W. Bush when he was making a campaign stop in Oregon in 2004. The protesters that included some from the [...]

Protesting priests and nun get no mercy from federal appeals court in trial over protests

The Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the 1907 Hague Convention did not overrule federal laws forbidding trespassing on government property. The court upheld the convictions of two Catholic priests and an 80-year-old nun who broke into a Seattle naval base to protest the presence of subs carrying nuclear missiles. -db From the Courthouse [...]

Federal judge rules against police officer blowing whistle on ‘disruptive’ quota system

A federal district judge ruled that a veteran police officer was not protected when blowing the whistle on an alleged quota system used by the Bronx police. The system supposedly rewarded police for excelling in discharging their duties but caused conflicts between officers and retaliation against those who made the quotas. -db From the Courthouse [...]

Federal appeals court okays political ads on public television and radio stations

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal law prohibiting political ads on public stations violated the First Amendment. The court upheld part of the law banning ads for commercial products out of concern that stations would change their programming to appeal to a broader audience but said that running political ads would [...]

Military judge dodges issue of media access to prison treatment of key terrorist

A military judge delayed ruling on whether the press could have access to testimony about the prison treatment of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri charged with leading the USS Cole bombing in 2000 which killed 17. The CIA admitted waterboarding al-Nashiri and threatening him with a handgun and power drill. -db From the Reporters Committee for Freedom [...]

Former CIA officer indicted for leaking classified information about Guantanamo interrogations

A former CIA agent has been charged with violating the Espionage Act by leaking classified information on the Guantanamo interrogations to reporters. Ex-CIA agent John Kiriakou worked for the CIA from 1990 to 2004 and is among six government employees charged in recent years with violating the Espionage Act by talking to the media. -db [...]

High school student takes fight to wear Jesus T-shirt to federal court

A high school student and his mother are suing their school district in federal court for forcing him to take off a T-shirt that read “Jesus Is not a Homphobe.” The school said the shirt was disruptive and violated separation of church and state. The student wore the shirt to raise awareness of the bullying [...]

Marine critical of Obama on Facebook challenges armed forces on First Amendment grounds

Backed by his congressman, a Tea Party Marine is contesting his dismissal from the military for criticizing President Barack Obama on the Armed Forces Tea Party web page, contending that the postings were private speech and protected under the First Amendment. “A Marine doesn’t give up his First Amendment right to free speech by being [...]

Opinion: Arizona law criminalizing offensive language online poses threat to First Amendment

An Arizona law that awaits the Governor’s signature makes it a crime to use “any electronic or digital device” and “any obscene, lewd or profane language” “with intent to … offend.” In extending the prohibition from telephones with normally one recipient to the Internet with a wide audience, the law is a threat to free [...]

First Amendment: Federal appeals court reject prisoner’s plea for drug rehab instruction in Spanish

An inmate who claimed Miami prison officials denied his free speech rights by not offering a residential drug-abuse program for Spanish-speakers lost his case in federal appeals court. “The decision shows that prison officials do not necessarily violate the Constitution when they make an unwise or debatable policy choice, such as ending a program that [...]

California state senator criticizes state university for beating down whistleblowers

California State Senator Leland Yee (D- San Francisco) has asked the California State University to stop retaliating against whistleblowers. A recent newspaper article revealed that CSU spent almost $9 million recently for lawyers and settlements in lawsuits brought by employees who claimed they were punished for reporting infractions under the California Whistleblower Protection Act. -db [...]

California community college students protesting cost of education get pepper-sprayed

Santa Monica College students protesting a new plan to offer high-demand courses at significantly higher cost in the summer session got pepper-sprayed for their trouble. The College justified their actions to prevent students from disrupting a trustees meeting but said they would pay the medical bills of those injured and launch an investigation of the [...]

Federal judge rules nursing student waived free speech rights in violating confidentiality pledge

A former University of Louisville nursing student disciplined for writing about patients on My Space cannot collect damages for violation of her First Amendment rights, a federal judge ruled. The judge noted the student waived her free speech rights when she agreed not to post information about patients on the Internet that could be read [...]

Federal judge rules against Massachusetts town’s ban of tobacco ad signs

Observing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that truthful advertising of products is protected under the First Amendment, a federal district ruled that Worcester, Massachusetts could not ban outdoor tobacco ads or in-store ads visible from the street. The judge wrote that Worcester “has no legitimate interest in prohibiting non-misleading advertising to adults to prevent them [...]

Surprise among countries jailing the most journalists per capita

The Committee to Protect Journalists of the CJR is most concerned with the murder of journalists in Russia and Syria and the long-term incarceration of reporters. The number of nations hostile to free speech and press includes the usual suspects: China, Ethiopia, Iran, Vietnam, and Sudan. But it is surprising that Israel ranks second in [...]

Opinion: Obama’s performance flawed on First Amendment issues

While pledging to become the most transparent government in history, the Obama administration has fallen far short of that lofty promise. They made some strides in releasing some files and documents  such as the torture memos but have been secretive about domestic spying. They have also been criticized for prosecuting whistleblowers under the Espionage Act [...]

Attorney rating service wins libel case

Avvo, a Seattle-based site that rates attorneys, won a dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a Florida lawyer claiming a rating on the site was defamatory and false advertising and misrepresentation. “We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. Not only did we defend our right to free speech, but as one of the first [...]

« Previous Page — Next Page »