12-Year-Old Boy Removed From School Over 'Don't Tread on Me' Patch
"The Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American revolution," says Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
Free Speech
The Fifth Circuit on the "Trump Train" / Biden-Harris Bus Lawsuit
The lawyer's true superpower is to turn every case into a case about procedure.
But Is It Art?
What counts as an "artistic work" for purposes of special protection under the Texas anti-SLAPP statute?
Can the State Regulate Content Moderation?
It's hard to argue that providing a pipe constitutes a speech act.
Talking About Sex Online Shouldn't Be Illegal
Porn sites and other online spaces with adult content are fun; they’re also important sources of community and information.
'No Reasonable Officer' Would Have Arrested a Guy for a COVID-19 Joke, the 5th Circuit Says
The appeals court ruled that a Facebook post alluding to World War Z was clearly protected by the First Amendment.
When Should the Law Regulate Content Moderation?
Only when necessary to protect five basic internet rights.
Did Banks Hand Private Financial Data to the FBI Without Legal Process?
Banks routinely snitch on customers and even deny services to people politicians don’t like.
Court Rejects Lawsuit by Sorority Members Against Sorority for Admitting Transgender Member
The sorority, the court held, had a First Amendment freedom of expressive association right to choose which students to admit (logic that suggests that a sorority would equally be free to exclude transgender members).
Hospital Threatens Defamation Suit Over a 15-Year-Old's Change.org Petition
The hospital baselessly claimed the teenager's mother wrote the petition after she was fired without cause.
The Washington Post Says Democracy Demands Less Freedom of Speech
The paper worries that "social media companies are receding from their role as watchdogs against political misinformation."
Court Rejects RNC's Lawsuit Claiming Google Discriminatorily Treated RNC's Email as Spam
Section 230, the court says, immunizes good-faith attempts to block spam—and RNC didn't introduce enough evidence of bad faith.
Joke "We Need You Brad Pitt" Post at Start of COVID Pandemic Protected by First Amendment
The post led to the author being arrested for "terrorizing"; so clearly unconstitutional that the police officer lacks qualified immunity, says the Fifth Circuit.
No Pseudonymity or Sealing for Japanese User Seeking to Use American Courts to Subpoena Twitter Critics' Names
"Applicant's warning of a prima facie violation of Japanese law's privacy protections fails to constitute a harm severe enough" to justify pseudonymity.
California Public Records Requester Can File Anti-SLAPP Motion Objecting to Attempt to Block Request
The motion allows early dismissal of a lawsuit, here the lawsuit that aimed to block UC Irvine from responding to a public records request from the Center for Scientific Integrity (the Retraction Watch people).
Federal Judge: "Public Interest" Requires That Restrictions on "Medical Misinformation" Not Be Enjoined
So a court concludes in a case brought by presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Why We Should Care About Pseudonymity in Litigation
Like other features of legal procedure—such as the jury trial, the mechanism for appointing judges, the availability of appeal—pseudonymity both deeply affects the fairness of litigation and, often, the substantive outcomes.
30 Years Later, Politically Incorrect PCU Has a Lot To Say About College
“The whole woke movement, it’s obviously an echo of those times.”
Lawsuit Over Alec Baldwin's Publicly Labeling Woman "Insurrectionist" for Her Jan. 6 Activities Dismissed by Court
Plaintiffs sued for defamation, and also for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress stemming from the comments aroused by Baldwin's posts.
Public School May Hang "Black Lives Matter" Posters Without Displaying Other Viewpoints
The government gets to pick and choose which speech it displays on its property, and doesn't have to give others a right to reply (except in public fora, which don't include school walls).
Court Reduces $1.4M Verdict to $71.5K in #TheyLied Renaissance Faire Libel Case
Defendant had accused plaintiffs, "the King and Queen of [the Pittsburgh] Renaissance Faire," of failing to properly deal with allegations of sexual harassment, and of retaliating against sexual harassment victims; the jury found that the defendant knew the statements were false, or at least recklessly disregarded the risk of falsehood.
Court Rules in Favor of Pro-Life Protesters Arrested for Chalk Messages
While chalking on D.C. sidewalks and streets is illegal, the protesters say they were targeted for their beliefs.
Government Blocking of "Tornado Cash" Cryptocurrency-Related Service Was Legal, Didn't Violate First Amendment
So a federal court held Thursday.
First Amendment Protects Sign at University Saying "God Created Male and Female and Artemis Langford Is a Male"
Langford had been in the news for joining a sorority, which has caused a good deal of controversy at the University of Wyoming.
No Sealing of Plaintiff's Expunged Court Records That Are Central to Plaintiff's Libel Claim
"[T]he fate of Plaintiff's claims hinges to some extent on the truth or falsity of Defendant's statements regarding Plaintiff's conviction of a crime. Whether Defendant's statements are false—a determination that relies at least in part on Plaintiff's criminal records—is directly relevant to the public."
First Circuit Allows Police Officer Pseudonymity in Federal Lawsuit Over "Exculpatory Evidence List" Placement
I had asserted the contrary, arguing that the state allowance of pseudonymity in trying to get removal from the list didn't justify pseudonymity in a federal court lawsuit seeking damages for such placement; but the court disagreed.
Fani Willis Is Abusing Georgia's Terrible RICO Law
Trump and his acolytes' conduct was indefensible, but the state's RICO law is overly broad and makes it too easy for prosecutors to bring charges.
Was Biden's Social Media Meddling Illegal?
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern for a live discussion with Jay Bhattacharya and John Vecchione about their legal case against the Biden administration.
Illinois Court Rejects Claim for Group Libel of Poles Living During World War II Era
People may be able to successfully sue based on allegedly false and defamatory statements about themselves, or about very small groups of people that include themselves—but not based on statements about whole countries or ethnic groups.
Arizona's Public Universities Drop Controversial DEI Statements for Job Applicants
It may be part of a larger reassessment of subjecting all areas of life to ideological tests.
