Trump's Executive Order on Twitter Is a Total Mess
Plus: the weird new battle lines on warrantless surveillance, more CDC incompetence, Minneapolis on fire, and more…
First Amendment
Do Pandemic-Inspired Bans on Religious Services Violate the First Amendment? Circuit Courts Are Split.
Supreme Court precedent suggests COVID-19 restrictions that discriminate against churches are presumptively unconstitutional.
Twitter Fact-Checks Trump. Trump Threatens To Shut Down Twitter.
Plus: Police brutality protest in Minnesota ends in more police brutality, and more...
County Threatens Fines, Demands Expensive Alterations From Arizona Couple Hosting Free Yoga Classes and Potlucks on Their Property
Joshua and Emily Killeen are suing Yavapai County, Arizona, for what they claim are unconstitutional restrictions on their ability to advertise their business and host events on their rural property.
Supreme Court Won't Hear Suit Saying Facebook Helped With Hamas Attack
Hamas "used and relied on" Facebook "as among its most important tools to facilitate and carry out its terrorist activity," the plaintiffs claimed.
Supreme Court Can Put a Stop to Rule Compelling Anti-Prostitution Speech From Anti-HIV/AIDS Groups
The anti-prostitution pledge is unconstitutional when applied to U.S. nonprofits. But the feds say it's still OK to compel speech from these groups' foreign affiliates.
Prohibiting Religious Services Makes the First Amendment a Coronavirus Victim
While governments are shutting down religious services and fining pastors who defy those orders.
The National Labor Relations Board Wants To Punish a Conservative Publisher for a Joke About Unions
The Federalist's Ben Domenech is fighting the government in court.
Make an Anti-Union Joke, Prepare to Be Accused of an Unfair Labor Practice
The NLRB's prosecution of a conservative journalist should be worrisome.
Georgia High School Students Expelled for Racist TikTok Video Had Their Free Speech Rights Violated
The video was appalling, but it does not constitute a safety threat.
Raleigh Police Department: 'Protesting Is a Non-Essential Activity'
The government has broad emergency powers, but that doesn't mean the Constitution is suspended.
Even in a Pandemic, 'Constitutional Rights Still Exist'
A federal judge defended religious freedom by blocking a misguided ban on drive-in Easter services.
Trump Campaign Sues TV Station for Running 'Defamatory' Coronavirus Attack Ad
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of frivolous suits the president's reelection campaign has filed against media outlets.
A Progressive Media Group Demanded Censorship of Trump's Coronavirus Press Briefings. The FCC Said No.
The group's petition "would dangerously curtail the freedom of the press embodied in the First Amendment."
Is Wearing a Face Mask in Public To Ward Off COVID-19 a Crime?
It depends on the state where you live.
These Churches Refuse To Close Over COVID-19. Does the Constitution Protect Their Right To Remain Open?
Religious liberty, public health, and the police powers of the states
Do You Have a First Amendment Right to a Slayer-Themed License Plate?
A new lawsuit is challenging the California DMV's rejection of allegedly offensive personalized license plates.
The Bloomberg and Steyer Fiascoes Should Give Pause to Speech Restrictionists
No amount of money can buy victory for candidates who fail to persuade voters.
A Mississippi Woman Gave Diet Advice Without a License. The State Threatened To Throw Her in Jail.
Mississippi has a reputation for being one of the most obese states in the nation, as well as having one of America's highest incarceration rates. Neither will be improved by treating unlicensed dieticians like serious criminals.
The Trump Campaign Sues Another Newspaper
Plus: Judge rejects Gabbard's Google lawsuit, Bloomberg drops out, and more...
Students Demand Censorship of 'Coronavirus' Theme Party
They call it a "hate crime against Asian students and scholars."
Trump Campaign Files Libel Lawsuit Against The New York Times
Trump has long complained that libel laws need to be loosened to allow more lawsuits against media outlets.
Newspaper Lobbyists and Encryption Foes Join the Chorus Against Section 230
How the press learned to stop worrying and love censorship.
The First Amendment Right To Encourage Illegal Immigration
What’s at stake in United States v. Sineneng-Smith.
Ohio University's Radical Students Could Have Ignored Kaitlin Bennett. Instead, They Threw Liquids At Her.
The mob strategy is morally and practically flawed.
Georgia Can't Compel School Speakers To Promise They Won't Boycott Israel, Argues New Federal Lawsuit
Plus: Sanders tops Biden in new national poll, how federal housing policy is getting families evicted, and more...
Kesha Defamed Former Producer in Private Text to Lady Gaga About Rape, Says Judge
Plus: Maybe Buttigieg didn't win Iowa? Vermont considers decriminalizing prostitution. Customs and Border Protection gets a status change. And more...
Alexander Hamilton's Influence on Free Press Law: Free Speech Rules (Episode 10)
Episode 10 of Free Speech Rules, a video series by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh
This Crackdown on a Jury Nullification Activist Violates the First Amendment
What’s at stake in Michigan v. Wood
Undercover Animal Rights Investigation Snares Iowa State Senator Who Sponsored State's Unconstitutional Ag-Gag Law
If you think the worse thing you can do to a pig is kill it, footage from Rozenboom's farm will disabuse you of that notion.
What the Porn Industry Thinks of the New War on Porn
GOP attacks on internet smut are heating up, but the porn industry has more practical threats to worry about.
Panic About Peaceful Protest Reveals Gun Controllers' Bigotry
Erroneous predictions of violence at the Richmond rally conflated civil libertarians with militant racists.
The Supreme Court Weighs School Choice and Religious Liberty
What’s at stake in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Tulsi Gabbard Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Hillary Clinton Over 'Russian Asset' Comments
The lawsuit might be good politics, but it's bad for free speech.
No 'Insurrection' or Violence at Virginia Gun Rights Rally
Plus: Clinton says "nobody likes" Bernie, Biden wants Section 230 revoked, Iran takes responsibility for Jan. 8 plane crash, and more...
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.
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.
