Free Speech
Utah Woman Charged With Hate Crime for Stomping on 'Back the Blue' Sign
The case is yet another instance of law enforcement using hate crime enhancements to punish people for criticizing them.
Bronx Conservatory of Music Can't Seal Sexual Harassment Counterclaim Against It
"Bronx Conservatory does not cite (and this Court has not found) any case, in this jurisdiction or elsewhere, in which an employer accused of sexual harassment has succeeded in sealing the pleading containing that accusation on any of the grounds asserted here."
The Case Against Imposing Common Carrier Restrictions on Social Media Sites
The rationales for doing so are weak, and would create a dangerous slippery slope, if accepted.
Fifth Circuit Strikes Down Ban on Religious Proselytizing at El Paso Art & Farmers Market
The market was conducted on city streets, managed by the city, and open to the public.
The Campaign Against 'Extremism' Looks Like an Attack on Speech
Efforts against violence are turning into restrictions on ideas.
Facebook Will Now Ban Criticism of "Concepts, Institutions, Ideas, Practices, or Beliefs" When They Risk "Harm, Intimidation, or Discrimination" Against Religious, National, or Other Groups
This includes "burning a national flag or religious texts, caricatures of religious figures, or criticism of ideologies."
Tennessee Woman Sues State Officials for Revoking Her '69' Vanity Plate
Nashville’s Leah Gilliam says her vanity plate is protected by the First Amendment.
Economic Power Being Leveraged to Control Political Discourse
I'm serializing my new Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers? article, forthcoming in the Journal of Free Speech Law.
Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers?
I finally have a presentable draft of this article, forthcoming in the Journal of Free Speech Law; I'll be posting excerpts over the next couple of weeks.
Is NYT v. Sullivan the Real Problem with Libel Law? (Updated)
Glenn Reynolds suggests it's how that landmark decision was applied and expanded that has created the real problem.
Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court's Most Conservative Justice, Trashes Qualified Immunity Again
The Court has "failed to justify our enacted policy," he wrote.
SCOTUS Rules That California Violated the First Amendment by Routinely Demanding Donor Information From Advocacy Groups
Six justices agreed that the state's "dragnet for sensitive donor information" imposes "a widespread burden on donors' associational rights."
Journal of Free Speech Law Call For Papers: Symposium on the Freedom of Association and Disclosure Requirements
We'll be ready to publish articles on this subject as early as September, if you submit them by August 1.
S. Ct. Strikes Down California Requirement that Charitable Organizations Disclose Major Donors to State AG
"The gravity of the privacy concerns in this [case] is further underscored by the [amicus briefs supporting the challenge].... [T]hese organizations span the ideological spectrum ...: from the [ACLU] to the Proposition 8 Legal Defense Fund; from the Council on American-Islamic Relations to the Zionist Organization of America; from Feeding America—Eastern Wisconsin to PBS Reno."
Florida's Social Media Bill Was Supposed To Protect 'Free Speech.' A Judge Says It Violates the First Amendment.
Plus: How Trump lost in 2020, Amazon seeks recusal of FTC chair, and more...
Assignments Aimed at "Requiring a Statement" of Ideological Belief from Students May Violate First Amendment
So holds a Fifth Circuit panel (by a 2-to-1 vote), in an assignment requiring the writing of the Pledge of Allegiance, but the same argument would apply, I think, to compelled statements of other ideologies, whether related to patriotism, race, sex, sexual orientation, or anything else.
Lawsuit Over Nieman Journalism Lab (at Harvard) Outing Commenter Can Go Forward
The plaintiff is Francesca Viola, who wrote the comment when she was a journalism professor at Temple University.
Court Refuses Jail Guard's Request to Seal Civil Lawsuit Brought Against Him by Prisoner
"Bartolotti alleges that 'anytime you search [his] name on [the internet, he is] affiliated with this case,' which 'has affected [his] personal and professional lives [and] has become a safety issue at times as well.'"
Interpreting 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(2)
The statute immunizes computer services for "action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict ... availability of material that the provider ... considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected"—but what exactly does that mean?
New York Appeals Court Catalogs Rudy Giuliani's Election Lies As It Suspends His License to Practice Law
The suspension is based on "demonstrably false and misleading statements" that Giuliani made as Donald Trump's lawyer.
Fifth Circuit Certifies Questions in Doe v. Mckesson to Louisiana Supreme Court
This is the case against DeRay Mckesson, brought by a police officer who was injured in a protest that Mckesson allegedly organized.
Florida's College Intellectual Diversity Survey Is Good, Actually
No, it’s not an attempt to monitor faculty and student views. It’s an attempt to make sure they’re allowed to express them.
Trigger Warning Now Counts as Violent Language at Brandeis University
A way of warning someone they might feel offended is itself offensive?
Hong Kong's Free Press Is Dying
After Chinese authorities conducted newsroom raids and arrested top editors, pro-democracy publication Apple Daily realized it could no longer safely operate.
Does a New Florida Law Require State Universities to Monitor Faculty and Student Beliefs? (Updated)
Why is straight reporting on educational reform measures so difficult.
Journal of Free Speech Law Call For Papers: Symposium on the First Amendment and Student Speech
We'll be ready to publish articles on this subject as early as September, if you submit them by August 1.
