Free Speech
Ban on Broadcasting Court's Own Recordings of Criminal Hearings Likely Unconstitutional
The Fourth Circuit holds that Maryland's ban must be subject to strict scrutiny, a test that the prohibition is highly unlikely to satisfy.
Don't Ban Critical Race Theory in Education. Embrace School Choice Instead.
It's wrong for politicians to suppress important debates in schools. Instead let families have more control of their kids' educations.
No Heckler's Veto: Court Reverses $1.5M Nuisance Verdict Against Abortion Clinic, Which Was Chiefly Based on Actions of Protesters and Arsonists
A new decision from the Georgia Court of Appeals.
The PRO-SPEECH Act Is Anything but First Amendment-Friendly
The law would make a federal case out of every aggrieved internet user and compel companies to host messages they do not wish to platform.
Feds Seize CNN Reporter's Data, Then Gag CNN
If this doubly punitive anti-press maneuver sounds familiar, that's because it keeps happening, including to Reason.
The World Loves Free Speech—Except When They're Offended
Americans oppose restrictions, but report feeling less free to speak about political matters.
Eighth Circuit Agrees to Rehear Arkansas Anti-BDS Statute Challenge
The three-judge panel struck down the statute by a 2-to-1 vote, but now the entire Eighth Circuit will consider the case en banc.
N.C. County Removes Coca-Cola Machines from Government Facilities Because of Coke CEO's Speech About Georgia Election Law
This violates the First Amendment, I think; the government generally may not discriminatorily terminate (or refuse to renew) contracts based on the contractors' speech on matters of public concern.
FBI Backs Off Attempt To Subpoena Info on USA Today Readers
Plus: America's love-hate relationship with booze, Twitter CEO says "bitcoin changes absolutely everything," and more...
Don't Try To Fix Big Tech With Politics
I don't know the correct level of content moderation by Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Amazon, and neither do you.
Why Millennials Hate Free Speech and What To Do About It
The creator of ultra-woke poet Titania McGrath makes the case against cancel culture.
Stanford Law Dean: 'I Would Never Have Approved' Investigating a Student for Mocking the Federalist Society
"Stanford Law School is strongly committed to free speech," says Dean Jenny S. Martinez, who wants to "ensure that something like this does not happen again."
Why Did It Take Stanford So Long To Recognize This Satirical Flyer As Protected Speech?
The university investigated a law school student for mocking the Federalist Society, putting his diploma on hold until yesterday.
Andrew Doyle: Free Speech and Why It Matters
The creator of Titania McGrath on cancel culture, government overreach, and younger generations' willingness to censor
A Pennsylvania Police Chief Resigns After Pleading Guilty to Threatening a Facebook Critic With a False Arrest
Perhaps the ignominious end to Brian Buglio's career will alert thin-skinned cops to the perils of trying to punish people for constitutionally protected speech.
Judge Denies Mega-Law-Firm's Request to Litigate Arbitration Confirmation Under Seal
Dentons US LLP sought to “initiate a civil case under seal by filing a petition to confirm an emergency arbitration award.”
Jerome Corsi & Larry Klayman Seem on Track to Losing Libel/Trademark Lawsuit Against Infowars and Alex Jones
Defendants had said Klayman "'could be the single worst lawyer in America,' has 'never actually won a courtroom victory in his life,' and is an 'idiot' and an 'egomaniac,'" and that "Corsi he seemed to mentally be extremely degraded to the point of what I would call dementia."
Anything You File in Court Can and Will Be Used Against You by People Who Google Your Name
A future Miranda warning for litigants? "I wish the SDNY pro se clinic had made me aware that many third-party commercial services download court documents ... and publish this information on the internet."
Can Tenure Reviewers' Names Be Sealed in Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Filings?
No, says a district court at first; yes, it says six days later. Always good to check the docket for follow-up orders, if you have the time.
Lawsuit Over School District Terminating Food Supply Contract for Anti-George-Floyd, COVID-Is-a-Hoax, Media-Are-Brainwashing-Us Speech
can go forward, as a First Amendment retaliation claim, holds a federal judge.
Tech Groups Sue To Stop Ron DeSantis' Assault on Online Free Speech
“The Act is so rife with fundamental infirmities that it appears to have been enacted without any regard for the Constitution,” the lawsuit reads.
Dogs and Cats, Elections, and Prior Restraints
A Tennessee trial court "enjoined the parties [including a recent candidate for elected office] from making any public comments about each other and from making any 'negative or disrespectful comments' about each other to third parties."
Wrongly Ejecting Teenager from Sports Club for Sexual Misconduct May Be Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress,
if it's done without adequate investigation, and as a means of retaliating against the teenager's parent.
Police Officer's Libel Lawsuit Over Netflix's Making a Murderer Can Go Forward,
at least through discovery and until the motion for summary judgment; Netflix’s motion to dismiss has been denied.
Laurence Tribe, Several Others, and Me on "The Free Speech Implications of the 'De-Platforming' of Donald Trump"
I much enjoyed being on this American Constitution Society chapter panel.
Censor of Anti-China Speech Among Us
Two Illinois legislators meet with a high school principal complaining about an anti-China poster distributed by a student group, which promptly loses its faculty sponsor and has to
Avenatti v. Fox News Goes Full-On Civ Pro
Remember, the lawyer’s true superpower is to turn every question into a question about procedure.
Texas High Court Upholds Revenge Porn Statute,
by limiting it to exclude people who sincerely believed the material wasn't revenge porn (i.e., the participants had agreed that it be publicly released).
Phoenix Authorities Used 'ACAB' Slogan To Designate Protesters as a Gang
Umbrellas, black clothing, and chanting "all cops are bastards" signal criminal street gang membership, prosecutors said.
Is It Libelous to Falsely Say Someone Is Working with the Police?
Special bonus connections: disbarred lawyers, Tupac Shakur, New York City political figures, and then-not-yet-Attorney-General Michael Mukasey.
Do Anti-BDS Laws Restrict Speech?
The line between commercial decisions and advocacy is not as clear as opponents of anti-Israel boycotts suggest.
Alan Dershowitz's Libel Lawsuit Against CNN Can Go Forward
The lawsuit stemmed from CNN's coverage of Dershowitz's argument in the first Trump impeachment trial.
Labeling Video Filed in Court "Confidential" Doesn't Make It So
Yet "[i]t is particularly troubling to the Court that [the lawyer] appears to have survived this motion more by dumb luck than any concerted effort on his part to comply with either his professional responsibilities or the orders of this Court."
Does Libel Dispute About Whether "TheDemonatrix" Comics Are "Lolicon" Belong in Federal Court?
(Lolicon is "A Japanese term derived from the English phrase 'Lolita complex,' lolicon describes a fascination with cartoons of very young-looking girls engaged in varying degrees of erotic behavior.")
