Musician Sues Houston For His Right To Play His Accordion In Public
The city limits busking to its tiny Theater District, and it makes you jump through hoops even to play there.
First Amendment
The First Amendment and Privacy: Free Speech Rules (Episode 9)
Episode 9 of Free Speech Rules, a video series by UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh
New Mexico Medical Marijuana Supplier Wins First Amendment Challenge to the State Fair's Absurdly Broad Censorship
The overturned rules banned microscopes and shovels as drug paraphernalia and prohibited pictures of cannabis or the equipment used to grow it.
To Stop Spread of Hateful Messages, Iowa State University Restricted Sidewalk Chalk
The policy has earned a well-deserved First Amendment lawsuit.
Rapper Drakeo the Ruler Was Accused of Murder. Prosecutors Used His Music as Proof of His Guilt.
Prof. Erik Nielson says in Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America rappers everywhere are not getting a fair shake in the courtroom.
City Says Man's Giant, Semi-Ironic 'Trump 2020' Sign Is a Code Violation
A massive 15 foot tall Trump/Pence yard sign has unfortunately turned political.
A Christmas Miracle: Washington Court Overturns Marijuana Sign Rules That Banned String Lights Spelling 'Pot'
A judge concluded that the restrictions violate the state constitution's free speech guarantee.
Democrats Still Fundraising Off Citizens United, Still Wrong About What It Means
Plus: Christianity Today rejects Trump, retirement savings restrictions loosened, Nigerian sex work decriminalized, and more...
Judge Willett's Change of Heart
Upon reconsideration, Judge Willett splits with his colleagues over whether Black Lives Matter activist can be liable for violent protests
Wisconsin College Spent $100K Investigating Instructor for Allegedly Saying Police Department Was 'Full of Racists'
The investigation was launched after the local police chief complained and reached out to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Trump's Order Aimed at Fighting Anti-Semitism Is Constitutionally Problematic, but It's Not Anti-Semitic
Erroneous reporting set off a bizarre backlash that obscured the real problem.
If You Want To Defend Free Speech Against a New Wave of Attacks, Support Reason Today!
Today's censors are using tech policy and social-media outrage to attack your right to think and say what you believe.
Ro Khanna Hopes This Bill Will Pave the Way to Repealing FOSTA
Since FOSTA passed in 2018, "sex workers have faced increased violence" and "have been forced onto the streets," the California congressman says.
Devin Nunes Sues CNN for Reporting Claims He Helped Meddle in Ukraine
"CNN is the mother of fake news," reads the introduction to Nunes' new lawsuit.
SCOTUS Takes a Pass on Michael Mann's Defamation Suit (at least for now)
Justice Alito dissents from the denial of certiorari in National Review v. Mann
Police Investigate a High School Student for Making a Joke About Trump
"We’re still doing interviews, speaking with students, learning what was said and the context of the comment."
Andrew Yang Proposes Making Social Media Algorithms Subject to Federal Approval
The presidential hopeful on Thursday released a plan to regulate tech giants.
Federal Government Can't Just Allow 3D Gunmaking Software To Proliferate Without a License, Federal Judge Declares
Various states sued to stop the feds from allowing such gun-making files to circulate legally. Now, a federal judge says the decision to not prohibit them was "arbitrary and capricious."
Joe Biden Has Officially Joined the Misguided Crusade Against Online Free Speech
In comments to CNN on Monday night, Biden expressed a willingness to smash Section 230 in order to settle a feud his campaign is having with Facebook. That's a terrible idea.
Dallas Transit Agency Pays $345,000 to Settle Lawsuit by Photographer Arrested for Taking Pictures
DART police officer Stephanie Branch illegally arrested Avi Adelman after he defied her unlawful orders to stop photographing paramedics treating an overdose.
Mark Janus doesn't get his money back
The Seventh Circuit's ruling on remedies for Janus violations
Judge to PragerU: You Do Not Have a Free Speech Claim Against YouTube
Tech bias, real or alleged, does not violate free speech rights.
In Debate Over Political Speech Online, Facebook Has the Constitution on Its Side
As surely as winter follows fall, Republican election victories are followed by unconstitutional attempts to restrict political speech.
College and the First Amendment: Free Speech Rules (Episode 7)
Episode 7 of Free Speech Rules, from UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh
Kentucky Printer Wins Fight To Refuse To Print Pro-LGBT Shirts
But the technical nature of the decision might not stop future lawsuits.
Aaron Sorkin, Mark Zuckerberg Feud Over Political Ads. Here's Why Sorkin's Wrong.
Plus: The ACLU sues the FBI, divorce rates are at 40-year low, and more...
Federal Judge Orders Georgia Sheriff To Stop Ritualistically Humiliating Registered Sex Offenders on Halloween
Citing the First Amendment, the judge tells the sheriff he may not force certain homes to display signs warning trick-or-treaters to stay away.
Former Time Editor and CEO of Constitution Center (!) Wants To Cancel First Amendment, Pass Hate Speech Laws
Freedom of expression is under attack from politicians, activists, and, saddest of all, journalists who benefit most from it.
Student Charged With Manslaughter for Texting Boyfriend to 'Go Die'
The 21-year-old faces criminal punishment for text messages to her suicidal boyfriend.
Dave Chappelle: Second Amendment 'Is Just in Case the First One Doesn't Work Out'
The comedian received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in D.C. this weekend. His acceptance speech airs on PBS in January.
A Survey Finds Speech Restrictions Are Pretty Popular. That's Why We Need the First Amendment.
Most respondents, especially millennials, favored viewpoint-based censorship, suppression of "hurtful or offensive" speech in certain contexts, and legal penalties for wayward news organizations.
Colorado School Suspends 17-Year-Old After She Posted a Non-Threatening Gun Photo With Her Older Brother
She didn't break the law or threaten anybody, but her school still panicked.
The Connecticut Hate Crimes Law Used To Charge Two Idiot College Students Would Ban Family Guy Too
The state's hate crimes law—a "rarely enforced relic dating to 1917"—eviscerates free speech.
Massachusetts Bill Would Impose $200 Fines, 6 Months in Jail for Using the Word 'Bitch'
The bill is an obvious First Amendment violation says Jim Manley of the Pacific Legal Foundation.
Will Joe Biden Challenge Elizabeth Warren's Constitution-Shredding Proposals?
Unfortunately, rather than challenging Warren on the constitutionality of her plans, Biden is imitating them, at least when it comes to the assault on the First Amendment.
Privacy for Rights Isn't a Trade Americans Should Be Forced To Make
Should participation in an election hinge on a voter's identity being made public? Of course not.
Defending San Francisco's Anti-NRA Resolution, City Officials Say It Was Nothing but Meaningless Bluster
Although San Francisco's supervisors urged city officials to punish contractors with ties to this "domestic terrorist organization," they say they did not really mean it.
Trump Is the Problem, With or Without Twitter
If people think cancel culture sucks now, just wait until the government gets involved.
Prisons Are the Hardest Places to Read About Mass Incarceration
If you think a map of the moon might help an inmate escape, you might be a prison censor.
This Obnoxious Drunk's Opinions Could Earn Him an Extra 59 Months Behind Bars
The case vividly illustrates how hate crime laws punish people for the views they express.
Co-Author of San Francisco's E-Cigarette Ban Wants the FDA to Silence His Opponents
Supervisor Shamann Walton thinks he can use restrictions on commercial speech to suppress political speech.
Free Speech Under Fire
A new book tries and fails to make a case against freedom of expression.
A Michigan Man Has Been Acquitted by a Jury for Criticizing a County Judge on Facebook
It took a jury 26 minutes to decide that Jonathan Vanderhagen wasn't guilty.
Appeals Court Rejects Qualified Immunity Claim by Dallas Transit Cop Who Arrested a Photographer for Taking Pictures
Officer Stephanie Branch arrested Avi Adelman for criminal trespass even though he was not doing anything illegal.
The Growing Right-Wing Threat to Campus Free Speech
Conservatives deploy state power to go after speech they don't like.
