Civil Liberties
Why Take Responsibility When You Can Blame Somebody Else?
The year’s highlights in buck passing feature petulant politicians, brazen bureaucrats, careless cops, loony lawyers, and junky journalists.
Ninth Circuit Judge Urges Supreme Court "Not to Give Any First Amendment Protection for Racist Hate Speech"
“[G]overnment officials ... should not be unduly constrained in their attempts to regulate hate speech for the purpose of protecting the intended targets of said speech. This may require some refining of the Supreme Court’s prior guidance in its precedents.... For example, the Court could consider modifying the Brandenburg test to require only a probable and emerging threat of violence rather than imminent lawless action as a result of speech in order to regulate it.”
Ninth Circuit Upholds Expulsions for Off-Campus Abusive Speech That Targets Particular Students
“Students ... remain free to express offensive and other unpopular viewpoints [at least outside school], but that does not include a license to disseminate severely harassing invective targeted at particular classmates in a manner that is readily and foreseeably transmissible to those students.”
Our Biggest Stories of 2022 (and What We Predict for 2023)
Plus: The editors look back on what pieces of cultural media impacted them the most this year.
Beyoncé, Lizzo, and Taylor Swift Give In To the Speech Police
"It's stories and songs and films cut apart and written over, leaving no trace and no remnant of whatever used to be," writes novelist and cultural critic Kat Rosenfield.
Illinois Appellate Court Overturns a Stop-Posting-About-Plaintiff Order
Trial court: "I understand that you have a first amendment privilege, but sometimes the first amendment privilege contravenes certain statutes that are enacted by the State ...." Appellate court: That's "a misunderstanding of the relationship between statutes and constitutions."
Stop Spazzing Out About 'Spaz'
Social media, streaming, and a new era of digital self-censorship
Hamline Student Newspaper (the Oracle) Removed Published Defense of Lecturer Who Showed Painting of Muhammad
"[T]rauma and lived experiences," the newspaper says, "are not open for debate."
5 Infuriating Ways People Got the First Amendment Wrong in 2022
As free speech becomes an increasingly important part of the culture war, people won't stop misinterpreting—and outright violating—the First Amendment.
Don't Count on Criminal Prosecution To Hold Trump Accountable for His Egregious Post-Election Behavior
The final report from the January 6 select committee falls short of proving the elements required to convict the former president.
Crime Squad 4: Weather, Tires, Furniture, & Qualified Immunity
Enforcing all the laws, all the time.
Maybe 'Marshal Law' Can Save the Republican Party?
Unfortunately, the reality is something far more sinister.
The Hidden Subtitle of the NDAA That Will Ban Basic Facts About Judges Online
No judge should have to fear for their lives as they defend the rule of law. But that doesn’t mean they can infringe on other civil liberties to protect their information.
A New Federal Press Shield Bill Falters Just Before the Finish Line in Congress
A law to protect people engaged in journalism from having to reveal sources gets blocked by Sen. Tom Cotton.
University of Idaho Murders Yield Libel Lawsuit Against "Internet Sleuth"
According to the Complaint, "Ashley Guillard promotes herself on Amazon and TikTok as an Internet sleuth that solves high-profile unsolved murders by consulting Tarot cards, and performing other readings, to obtain information about the murders."
Judge Agrees Consumers Can Sue Over Misleading Movie Trailers
The weird judge-invented "commercial speech" exception to our right to free expression breeds strange results in suit against distributors of the 2019 movie Yesterday.
Curfews and Restrictions: Peru's Regime Cracks Down
Twenty-five people have died this month amid nationwide protests.
Stanford Seeks the 'Elimination of Harmful Language' Like 'American,' 'Stupid,' and…'Karen'
Their suggested replacement for 'Karen' is far more offensive than the term itself.
Governments Worldwide Abuse COVID Surveillance Powers
Once the government has an excuse to electronically track everywhere you've been and everyone you've been near, abuses are predictable.
Unassembled and Incomplete Array of Shotgun Parts = Firearm
That the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension "was able to assemble the shotgun components using a stock bolt and a stock bolt washer from another firearm" "was sufficient to prove that the unassembled shotgun parts in this case constituted a firearm."
"This Is About as Frivolous a Motion to Seal as I Have Seen" [UPDATE: Response from Lawyer Added]
"Defendants are ORDERED to identify the lawyer responsible for this motion. The lawyer, by January 3, 2023, is ORDERED to submit an explanation of why the lawyer thought this was a justified motion. When I see the explanation, I will consider whether subsequent proceedings are appropriate."
Can Court Seal Details Related to Allegations of Misconduct by Federal Prosecutors?
The Second Circuit reverses such a limited sealing order, and sends the case back to the district court for further analysis.
The War on Christmas Comes for the Drag Queens
Some conservatives toss “parents’ rights” out the window in a holiday culture war against kids at live shows.
Why a Facial Recognition Device Barred This Woman From a Rockettes Show
Kelly Conlon's bizarre experience gives a glimpse into a future with omnipresent facial recognition systems.
Sen. Mike Lee Wants To Ban Porn by Redefining 'Obscene'
The IODA aims to edit the legal defintion of "obscenity" to allow for the regulation of most pornography. But even if it passes, a nationwide porn ban is unlikely to succeed.
In One Arizona County, Child Protective Services Will Eventually Investigate Two-Thirds of Black Children
A staggeringly high number of families are subject to child abuse and neglect investigations in Maricopa County, Arizona.
The FBI Paid Twitter $3.4 Million for Processing Requests
The latest Twitter Files installment shows the FBI paid Twitter millions of dollars to cover the costs of processing the agency's requests. Yikes.
No Pseudonymity in Case Alleging Disability Discrimination Based on "Major Depressive Disorder"
“[I]t is reasonable to expect the person invoking the Court’s jurisdiction to set aside some of his privacy. Many statutes, such as the ADA [...] require a plaintiff to set aside his [] privacy and disclose information that he [] may otherwise wish to keep confidential.”
Court Orders Employer Not to Report Employee's Husband to Immigration Authorities
The employer had apparently threatened to do so as retaliation for the plaintiff's wage-and-hour violation claim.
Biden Is Set To Sign $858 Billion Pentagon Budget—One of the Biggest Ever
Plus: North Carolina strikes down voter ID law, more turmoil at Twitter, and more...
Canada Threatens Free Speech in the Guise of Nationalistic Obsessions
Demands by lawmakers and government officials for locally produced content may lead to online censorship.
Absolute Immunity Puts Prosecutors Above the Law
By giving powerful law enforcement officials absolute immunity from civil liability, the Supreme Court leaves their victims with no recourse.
Twitter Files: The FBI Frequently Flagged Joke Tweets, Asked for Moderation
Maybe the FBI has something better to do with its time?
Journal of Free Speech Law: "Why Freedom of Expression Is Better Protected in Europe Than in the United States,"
by Prof. Thomas Hochmann (Univ. of Paris Nanterre), 2 J. Free Speech L. 63 (2022).
Phoenix and the NFL Are Censoring Small Business Owners' Signs
Property owners are required to get permission from the city, the NFL, and/or the private Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee before displaying temporary advertisements and signs.
