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. [...]

Opinion: Scholars say online piracy bills violate U.S. Constitution

Leading Constitutional scholars say the online piracy legislation currently before Congress throttles constitutional rights, writes Corynne McSherry for the Electronic Freedom Foundation. She says the revised legislation only gives lip service to the First Amendment and denies due process and free speech in ways described by the scholars. -db From a commentary for the Electronic [...]

Justice Department freezes music blog for a year supposedly for copyright infringement

The Justice Department seized the assets of a popular music blog, Dajaz1, reportedly for violations of copyright, but did not give the blog a day in court to fight the action. Writing in TechDirt, Mike Masnick says it was an outrageous act, “I suspect that nearly all of you [readers] would say that’s a classic [...]

San Francisco federal appeals court to allow broadcast of same-sex marriage hearing

When the lawyers argue before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the appeal of the striking down of Prop 8, the referendum prohibiting same-sex marriage, the proceedings will be videotaped and then televised. A federal district court had ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional for violating equal protection and due process rights. -db From the [...]

Federal judge rules Las Vegas street performers can sue for free speech rights

A federal district judge sided with Las Vegas street performers, ruling that they could pursue their claim that the Metro Police and the Venetian had violated their free speech rights. The performers claimed that the sheriff had not adequately trained his officers on free speech issues over the use of the sidewalks outside casinos. -db [...]

Online newspaper refuses to honor federal court order to remove video clips relating to Gulf oil spill

An online newspaper The Daily is refusing to comply with a federal judge’s order to remove video clips of former British Petroleum CEO Tony Hayward testifying on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The judge indicated she may rescind the order. The court had issued a pretrial order forbidding the publication [...]

North Carolina college bans student from graduation for negative Facebook post

Saint Augustine’s college has banned a student from graduation ceremonies after the student posted comments on Facebook critical about how the college was handling its recovery from a tornado. FIRE claims that in the absence of a policy sanctioning the punishment, the college improvised by declaring that a Facebook post challenging their decisions could keep [...]

California: Censured Crescent City council woman cannot sue under First Amendment

A federal judge ruled a Crescent City councilwoman cannot sue former council members for violating her constitutional rights by censuring her in 2009. The woman had claimed in her suit that Crescent City had violated her free speech and due process rights when they censured her for ethical breaches. The judge found that the councilwoman [...]

Former conservative talk show host sues for solitary confinement in federal prison

A former conservative radio talk show host sentenced to four years in federal prison for laundering drug money is suing the U.S. government. He claims he was put into solitary without due process, learning incidentally that he was punished for unauthorized contact with the media. While in prison, the man wrote a letter to a [...]

Man charged with espionage uses First Amendment defense

A former foreign policy analyst under indictment for espionage filed motions to dismiss the charges arguing that the charges violate his First Amendment right to talk with the press. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press February 2, 2011 By Kacey Deame A defendant charged with espionage for allegedly leaking “national defense information” [...]

Federal judge rules reporter does not have to testify in medical pot case

A federal district court dismissed a subpoena of a reporter on the grounds that the subpoena violated the reporter’s First Amendment right to withhold testimony. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press October 1, 2010 By Daniel Skallman A federal judge quashed a criminal defense lawyer’s subpoena of a reporter last month, ruling [...]

Federal ruling in Georgia major victory for student rights

A federal district court found in favor of a student suing Valdosta State University for expelling him for simply protesting the decision to build a $30 million parking garage. -db The Huffington Post Commentary September 23, 2010 By Greg Lukianoff A ruling issued earlier this month by a federal district court in Georgia may be [...]

Electronic Frontier Foundation says Gizmodo editor protected by California law and First Amendment

The Civil Liberties Director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation says regardless of suspicions that Gizmodo editor Jason Chen was in possession of a stolen iPhone, under the California shield law and the federal Privacy Protection Act, the police search of his home and seizure of his computers was illegal. -db Electronic Frontier Foundation Legal Analysis [...]

Vague standards challenge Supreme Court in decisions on cases involving “material support” to terrorists

In deciding cases challenging the law forbidding support for terrorist organizations, the Supreme Court must consider that laws should provide clarity about which acts are illegal. -db The New York Times Commentary February 23, 2010 By John Farmer Jr. Notwithstanding the finger-pointing (and judicial head-shaking) since the Supreme Court’s decision last month on corporate speech, [...]

State appeals court reverses conviction for Internet threat

In dismissing a conviction of a former college student for online threats to kill children, the Fourth District Court of Appeal agreed with the defense that the threat was not directed at any individual and that the offense did not correspond to the defendant’s actual conduct. -DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise January 26, 2010 By Steven M. [...]

ACLU suing Nebraska on stringent requirements for independent candidates and ballot initiatives

In suing the state of Nebraska, the American Civil Liberties Union claims that signature requirements for independent candidates and ballot initiatives discourage voter participation and violate their free speech rights. -DB American Civil Liberties Union Press Release December 16, 2009 OMAHA, NE – Burdensome petition signature requirements unlawfully keep independent candidates and ballot initiatives off [...]

Judge overturns expulsion of student for online posting

Avoiding the First Amendment issues, a judge ruled that a University of Louisville nursing student could not be expelled for her blog post which the university said had violated the nursing Honor Code and the childbirth course Confidentiality Agreement. -DB Citizen Media Law Project August 12, 2009 By Lee Baker Once again, the powers that [...]