Now There's a Trademark Issue for You
"They should be paying us for burnishment—not suing us for tarnishment."
Free Speech
Two Illiberal and Unjust Zelensky Policies the West Should Force Him to End
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is leading his nation a just cause. But we should not allow him to impose censorship and emigration bans in the process. A nation fighting for freedom must not undermine it.
Lawyer Gets Harassment Restraining Order Against Ex-Clients Based on (Among Other Things) Online Criticism
No, says the Appeals Court of Massachusetts: "We take this opportunity to reiterate that, where a c. 258E order is sought on the basis of speech alone, the plaintiff must prove that the speech rose to the level of true threats or fighting words and not merely that it was 'harassing, intimidating, or abusive in the colloquial sense.'"
A Federal Judge Says a Victim of Retaliatory Prosecution Can Sue a Cop Who Treated Criticism As a Crime
An Arkansas police officer used trumped-up charges to punish a man who criticized him for violating the Constitution.
Veggie 'Meat' Maker Tofurky Wins Free Speech Challenge to Food-Labeling Law
Plus: Meta's campaign to smear TikTok, new research on immigrants and welfare, and more...
Trial Court Focused Too Much on Racial Slurs by Defendant Towards Police Officers
So holds the California Court of Appeal, in sending back to a different judge defendant's motion to retroactively downgrade her conviction (for non-slur resistance to the officers) to a misdemeanor.
Want To Stop School Book Battles? Give Parents Real Choice in Education
State-level "gag orders" on teaching certain texts and ideas are terrible and utterly predictable in a one-size-fits-all K-12 educational system.
Police Officer Gets Critic Prosecuted for "Harassment," Based on Critical Online Posts
Now the critic's First Amendment lawsuit over this (and other matters) can go forward.
From Yale Law's Dean on the March 10 Protest
"This is an institution of higher learning, not a town square, and no one should interfere with others' efforts to carry on activities on campus. YLS is a professional school, and this is not how lawyers interact."
Will Smith Reminds Us Why Words Should Not Be Equivalent to Violence
A wake-up call for the woke
Be Like Chris Rock
The comedian won last night's Oscars by telling bad jokes, dealing with the consequences, refusing to escalate or apologize, and doing his damn job.
Supreme Court Reminds Us That the Best Answer to Unwanted Speech Is More Speech
Plus: On tipping and slavery, cities see population declines, and more...
Hearing Mike Pence Speak Won't Harm UVA Students
The editorial board of UVA's The Cavalier Daily should abandon its effort to keep Mike Pence off campus.
"Bullying and Harassing Behavior Are Prohibited on Social Media Platforms," Says Alaska Senate Bill
What counts as "bullying and harassing" behavior, you might ask? The bill doesn't say.
Elected Body's Censure of Member for His Speech Doesn't Violate First Amendment, but
censure of government employees, students, professionals, and others might.
Crime to Send Certain "Crude, Vulgar, and Degrading" Sexual Jokes to 16-/17-Year-Olds in Indiana
But it's just fine to have sex with them.
"Cancel Culture … Is Inconsistent with the Philosophy of Open, Political Debate"
“[I]t undermines and stifles First Amendment privileges,” says a federal court, defining “cancel culture” as “the phenomenon of aggressively targeting individuals or groups, whose views aggressors deem unacceptable, in an effort to destroy them personally and/or professionally.”
Illinois Town "Issue[s] 62 Tickets to an Elderly Couple for Having Lawn Chairs in Their Front Yard"
Based on the allegations of the complaint, "[i]f this case were a Monell crime scene, [Melrose Park Village Mayor Ronald Serpico] left his fingerprints, footprints, and DNA all over the place.
"Project Veritas Says Feds Secretly Accessed Its Emails"
UPDATE 3/24/2022: Added link to government's response.
Idaho Senate Won't Vote on House Bill To Fine and Jail Librarians for Obscenity
In a win for liberty, Idaho's Senate will likely not vote on a bill that would punish librarians for failing to sufficiently protect minors from "harmful" content.
Canceling the Cancel Culture Deniers
If everything is cancel culture, nothing is.
Twitter Suspends Satire Site Babylon Bee for Tweet, "The Babylon Bee's Man of the Year is Rachel Levine"
The tweet was apparently aimed at mocking Time Magazine for calling Rachel Levine its "Woman of the Year."
The Hunter Biden Laptop Story Makes Another Case Against 'Misinformation' Bans
Plus: Fiona Apple fights for transparent courts, Missouri bill takes aim at out-of-state abortions, and more...
The Evolving Challenges to Maintaining Anonymity
Privacy law should supplement the First Amendment's anonymity protections.
Schools May Have Violated First Amendment Rights by Retaliating Against Contractor Based on Political Speech
The Ninth Circuit decides the Riley's American Heritage Farms case.
