The Pentagon and the FBI Are Investigating 6 Legislators for Exercising Their First Amendment Rights
The Trump administration is desperately trying to criminalize a video noting that service members have no obligation to follow unlawful orders.
Free Speech
Texas Man Faces Up to 40 Years in Prison for Transporting Constitutionally Protected Pamphlets
The government treats anarchist zines as evidence of terrorism.
Elon Musk's 'Account Based In' Feature Has Already Improved X
Foreign grifters are posting clickbait to make money from X's revenue-sharing program.
Councilman's Threatening Outside Counsel Law Firm into Firing Attorney May Violate First Amendment
"A Nashville city councilman threatened to withdraw business from a law firm, which served as the city's outside counsel, due to the position one of its attorneys took as the chair of the county election commission on a tax referendum."
Trump's Habitual Charges of 'Treason' Reflect His Authoritarian Impulses
The president’s reaction to a supposedly "seditious" video illustrates his tendency to portray criticism of him as a crime.
"Spy" vs. "Spy" (+ Piers Morgan, President Biden, and the Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program)
If someone was prosecuted (and later pardoned) for being an unregistered foreign agent for Iran, is it defamatory to say he was prosecuted for "spying"?
University's Apparent Concealment of Real Reasons for Non-Renewal of Adjunct Professor's Contract Suspended Statute of Limitations
"The [eventually released personnel] records contain no negative performance reviews, but they do contain three anonymous complaints. Those complaints accused Grossenbach of 'creat[ing] a hostile environment for transgender and LGBTQ students' in connection with his SaveCFSD activities [allegedly referring solely to Grossenbach's outside-class political activity -EV], among other things."
What Would Bill Buckley Do?
The National Review founder's flexible approach to politics defined conservatism as we know it.
Exorcist Files vs. Jesus 911 Libel Suit
"The Defendants intentionally or recklessly invited public critique and scrutiny over Plaintiff's title as an exorcist by repeatedly asserting that the Plaintiff is not an exorcist."
Most Americans Think Free Speech Is on the Decline, Survey Finds
"Drops in confidence across all political parties contributed to the record-levels of pessimism," writes the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
Trump Says Legislators Committed Treason by Noting That Soldiers Are Not Obligated To Obey Unlawful Orders
The president's authoritarian response to a video posted by six members of Congress, who he says "should be arrested and put on trial," validates their concerns.
US News and World Report Article Urging Colleges to Reject Trump's "Compact" With Higher Education
I coauthored the article with four other legal scholars from across the political spectrum.
Is The Washington Post Becoming Libertarian?
The Washington Post opinion editor Adam O’Neal outlines his vision for a more classically liberal editorial voice, examines how both parties turned against free speech and free markets, and explains why the paper is ending political endorsements.
Eleventh Circuit Rejects Trump's Defamation Lawsuit Over CNN 2022 "Big Lie" Statement
President Trump "complained that, by using the phrase 'Big Lie' to describe his claims about the 2020 presidential election, CNN defamed him."
Judge Reverses Earlier Decision: Ex-Employee Can't Sue Planned Parenthood for Race Discrimination as a "Jane Doe"
[UPDATE 11/17/2015 10:21 am: Sorry, post title originally accidentally omitted the "as a 'Jane Doe'" (which of course is what this decision is about, see below); I've revised the title to include it. My apologies!]
Trump Is Right: That BBC Documentary Misquoted Him
His lawsuit against the BBC is likely frivolous, however.
Oregon Woman Says ICE Broke Out Her Car Windows and Detained Her for Filming Them
The First Amendment protects filming the police, but Berenice Garcia-Hernandez says she was dragged out of her car and detained for nearly seven hours for snapping photos of ICE agents.
5 Legal Reforms To Consider as Government Officials Lean on Critics
FIRE suggests laws to trim FCC power and protect free expression.
Candace Owens Can't Present Serious Evidence for Her Charlie Kirk Assassination Theories
The mainstream media have made serious errors. That doesn't mean every contrarian, fringe, or conspiratorial idea is automatically correct.
You Can Thank This Ohio Klansman for Expanding Your Freedom of Speech
Brandenburg v. Ohio established the "imminent lawless action" standard. More than 50 years later, partisans keep trying to apply it selectively.
Photo: A Banksy Mural's Ghostly Outline
The street artist's London mural appeared after the U.K. Parliament voted to ban a group that uses "disruptive tactics" against manufacturers supplying weapons to Israel.
Oklahoma's Obscenity Bait and Switch Could Ban Pride Parades and Public Drag Shows
These lawmakers expect local authorities to ban "obscenity" before it happens—a recipe for chilling a wide variety of legal speech.
James Comey Says His Grudge-Driven Prosecution Is Unconstitutional Retaliation for His Criticism of Trump
The former FBI director also argues that the charges against him are legally deficient and that the prosecutor who brought them was improperly appointed.
Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Tennessee Man Over Facebook Meme
Larry Bushart was arrested on a $2 million bond for posting a meme on Facebook. He was released this week, after more than a month in jail.
Social Media Speech "Recklessly" Jeopardizing Classmates' Sense of "Safety" by "Condon[ing]" "Forcible Family Separation by Immigration Authorities" May Be Punishable
So argues a concurring opinion in today's Second Circuit decision in Leroy v. Livingston Manor Central School Dist., also speaking about speech that "callously cheer[s] on or condone[s]" "police brutality, ... religiously-motivated attacks on their houses of worship, sexual or gender-based violence, or any other type of targeted state or private violence."
School's "Interest in Teaching Racial Sensitivity Is Not Sufficient" to Justify Punishing Student's "Free Expression Off-Campus"
So holds the Second Circuit: "Tying a student speaker's constitutional right to free expression solely to the reaction that speech garners from upset or angry listeners cannot be squared with [First Amendment] principles."
When the Government Censored Dracula, Frankenstein, and King Kong
Remembering a monstrous era of American history
