Judge Halts Montana's First Amendment-Violating TikTok Ban
The ban, scheduled to take effect on January 1, is likely unconstitutional in multiple ways, the judge held.
Free Speech
Maintaining Online Copy of Court Opinion Isn't Libelous, Even When It's Reversed
A district court refuses to enter default judgment against caselaw publisher Leagle, concluding that the plaintiff's claims against Leagle were legally insufficient.
Getting Dartmouth to Revoke Plaintiff's Admission Wasn't Speech on Issue of Public Interest,
under California's "anti-SLAPP" statute (which allows for prompt dismissal of claims brought based on certain kinds of speech).
The Backpage Defendants Never Stood a Chance
Moral panic plus government power is an inescapably potent combination.
Irish Prison for Edgelords and Hotheads?
Plus: Repealing tobacco bans, UN pointlessness, Substack's "Nazi problem," and more…
Poised To Lose Battle Over Gun Ads, City Bans All Advertising But Its Own
Flagstaff keeps digging a hole over commercial free speech.
Prosecutors Use Lyrics, Diary Entries as Evidence in Georgia RICO Cases
In separate criminal racketeering cases, prosecutors are using rap lyrics and the personal diary of a protester shot and killed by police as evidence.
"Protecting People from Their Own Religious Communities: Jane Doe in Church and State,"
a new article of mine, is now available at the Journal of Law & Religion.
USC Censors Jewish Professor for Saying Hamas 'Should Be Killed'
The university is violating John Strauss's free speech rights.
Don't Ask a Judge to Rule for You and Then Send Him a Death Threat
"Cut your backwards ass bullshit or you will start losing family members and the President of the United States will wind up dead!"
Challenge to NYU Law Review's Race and Sex Preferences May Proceed Pseudonymously, at Least for Now
[UPDATE: Added a brief discussion of pseudonymity and class actions.]
He Wants To Label Food 'Low FODMAP.' The Government Won't Let Him.
Lots of Americans have an intolerance to FODMAPs—the sugars prevalent in garlic, onion, and many other foods.
Trump Gag Order Raises Unsettled Constitutional Questions
A D.C. Circuit judge says the government’s defense of the order gives short shrift to "the First Amendment’s vigorous protection of political speech."
Ron DeSantis Rediscovers the First Amendment's Protections for Anonymous Speech
The Florida governor is attacking Republican primary rival Nikki Haley over her awful idea to police online speech, but the timing is awkward.
Free Speech Advocates Are Often Hypocrites. This Doesn't Make the Cause Less Important.
When people from historically privileged groups are facing censorship, that doesn't mean people in historically marginalized groups are actually being empowered.
The World's First Libertarian President
Plus: A listener asks the editors about libertarians and "reflexive contrarianism."
Backpage: The Monumental Free Speech Case the Media Ignored
The mere act of publishing sex ads online is enough to send most potential free speech allies scurrying for the exits.
Mississippi Makes It a Crime to Advertise Legal Medical Marijuana Businesses
Clarence Cocroft filed a lawsuit this week challenging the state's virtual ban on advertising medical marijuana businesses, arguing the law violates his First Amendment rights.
Washington Court Refuses to Enforce Saudi Child Custody Decree
"During the custody battle [in Saudi Arabia], Ghassan AlHaidari accused Bethany of gender mixing, adultery, and insulting Islam and Saudi Arabia. Gender mixing, a punishable crime, entails having a male friend. To prove the charge of adultery, Ghassan submitted a photograph of Bethany with a male, who Ghassan claimed to be her boyfriend. The crimes of adultery, insulting Islam, and insulting Saudi Arabia carry a death penalty in Saudi Arabia."
Nikki Haley's Crazy Plan to Require Verification on Social Media
The 2024 GOP candidate has proposed something blatantly unconstitutional.
No Absolute Privilege for Accuser's Allegations in High School Sex Misconduct Investigation,
because the investigations doesn't offer the sort of due process available in a judicial trial.
Republican Presidential Nomination
Blessed Are the Shitposters
Plus: Hospital raid, Eric Adams' fondness for Erdogan, open carry at the makeup counter, and more...
Florida Walks Back Order to Shut Down College Pro-Palestinian Groups
The change came after concerns were raised about "potential personal liability for university actors who deactivate the student registered organization," according to state officials.
Community College Ban on "Verbal Forms of Aggression … Harassment, Ridicule or Intimidation" Is Unconstitutionally Vague,
concludes a magistrate judge in recommendations to a federal district court.
Community College "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility" Requirements for Teaching and Other Professional Work Violate First Amendment,
concludes a magistrate judge in recommendations to a federal district court.
Alleged "Psychic Intuition" Still Isn't Enough to Make a Federal Claim "Plausible" Enough to Withstand Dismissal
An allegedly psychic "Internet sleuth" alleged a professor was involved in the University of Idaho student murders; the professor sued; then the "sleuth" countersued.
Crime of False Report of Child Abuse Includes False Report to School and Child Services Agency Officials,
not just false reports directly to the police.
