Facing Legal Challenge, Washington Weed Regulators Lift Ban on Cannabusiness Signs at Seattle Hempfest
The state's Liquor and Cannabis Board changed its policy after Hempfest and two marijuana retailers challenged it on constitutional grounds.
First Amendment
The War on Backpage.com Is a War on Sex Workers
The government's latest moral crusade shields traffickers, empowers pimps, and undermines free speech online.
Colorado Supreme Court Upholds a Decision That Forced a Teenager to Register As a Sex Offender for Swapping Nude Selfies
That result "may strike some as unfair," the court says, but it's what state law required at the time.
The Supreme Court Says Your Filthy Trademark Is Protected by the First Amendment
A 6-3 ruling says that the First Amendment protects brand names that are considered “immoral” or “scandalous.”
Oberlin Has Been Ordered to Pay $44 Million in a Defamation Lawsuit. The Punishment Doesn't Fit the Crime.
A local bakery accused the college of defamation after students launched a public campaign against the store for racial profiling. Oberlin mounted a free speech defense.
Josh Hawley Introduces Bill to Put Washington In Charge of Internet Speech
Hawley is selling it as a way to fight tech-company "bias" against Republicans. Don't believe him.
Sex Toy Company Sues New York Subway for Screwing With Its First Amendment Rights
In a letter to Dame explaining why the ads had been rejected, the MTA cited longstanding rules against ads "promoting a sexually oriented business."
Do the Hatch Act's Restrictions on Kellyanne Conway's Commentary Violate Her First Amendment Rights?
The president's spokeswoman is doing what she has always done on TV, unencumbered by the legal distinction between partisan pundit and executive branch employee.
Is Accepting Information About a Political Opponent From a Foreigner 'an Assault on Our Democracy'?
Nancy Pelosi's overwrought take on Donald Trump's receptiveness to "oppo research" is hard to take seriously.
Did Craig Hicks Murder His Neighbors Because They Were Muslims? Should It Matter Legally?
The debate about whether the killer should have been prosecuted for federal hate crimes shows how the Justice Department targets defendants based on the opinions they express.
New Jersey Regulators Crack Down on Craft Beer
New Jersey’s lousy craft beer rules are an affront to free speech and consumer choice
What the Battle To Publish Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl' Means to Today's Free-Speech Struggles
The People v. Lawrence Ferlinghetti explains how America embraced free speech—and how we're ready to throw it away.
Hempfest Sues Washington's Marijuana Regulators for Censoring Sponsors' Signs
The Seattle festival's organizers argue that banning signs referring to state-licensed cannabusinesses violates the state and federal constitutions.
Rutgers Defunds Student Paper Because Referendum Turnout Was Too Low
The move violates the First Amendment, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
The European Union May Order Facebook to Stop You From Calling Austrian Politicians 'Corrupt Oafs'
Censorship inevitably ends up being used to protect the powerful from criticism.
San Francisco Police Got a Warrant to Monitor a Journalist's Phone Before Raiding His Apartment
The move is an assault on the First Amendment.
Think Trump's Attacks on Journalism Are Bad? San Francisco Cops Literally Raided a Reporter's Home.
Actions speak louder than words. Trump 's labeling of the media as "the enemy of the people" is bad, but he's not breaking into reporters' homes to find leakers. That's what the San Francisco Police Department did.
First Amendment Group Sues the University of Illinois Over Bias Reporting System, Restrictions on Political Speech
"An elaborate investigative and enforcement regime designed to restrain, deter, suppress, and punish speech."
Dissenting From a Decision Blocking a Retaliatory Arrest Claim, Neil Gorsuch Notes That 'Almost Anyone Can Be Arrested for Something'
The Trump appointee warns that "little would be left of our First Amendment liberties" if cops could punish people who irk them by finding a legal reason to bust them.
Double Standards Endanger Press Freedom
The treatment of Bryan Carmody and Julian Assange reveals widespread confusion about who counts as a journalist and whether it matters.
Who Owns Your Life Story? Free Speech Rules (Episode 4)
Episode 4 of Free Speech Rules, starring UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh
New Julian Assange Indictment Crushes the Hopes of Journalists Who Thought Their Press Passes Would Save Them
Don't believe the Justice Department when it reassures journalists that the WikiLeaks founder is uniquely guilty of violating the Espionage Act.
Dangerous Precedent Looms in Espionage Indictment Against Julian Assange
Plus: Naomi Wolf has no clue (again), gun site wins Section 230 case, and more...
Theory of Revised Julian Assange Indictment Could Apply to Ordinary Reporters
Under the government's theory in some of the charges, any reporter who knowingly prints certain kinds of government secrets could equally be prosecuted.
A Man Fights Back After His Profane Rant About a Deputy Ended in Harassment Charges
Jon Goldsmith called a local deputy a "stupid sum bitch" on Facebook, so the deputy's superior charged Goldsmith with writing a threatening statement.
The First Amendment Protects the Right to Work as a Tour Guide, Says Federal Judge
A Savannah, Georgia, law that required testing and licensing of tour guides is found unconstitutional.
Once Again, the Mongols Motorcycle Club Can Legally Keep Its Patch
The federal attempt to take the patch uniquely combines free speech violations and asset forfeiture.
Police Raid on Journalist's Home Has Grave First Amendment Implications
Bryan Carmody refused to name the source of a leaked police report.
'Fake News' Is a Really Dangerous Excuse for Censorship
The supposed plague of misleading and harmful information on the internet is nothing new, nor is governments' desire to muzzle anybody who says inconvenient things.
Jurassic Regulation
A new book reaches the right conclusions on telecom policy but suffers from anti-market myopia.
California Was Ready to Punish This Synagogue Shooter for Murder. The Feds Want to Make Sure He Is Also Punished for Hating Jews.
The federal hate crime charges against John T. Earnest are redundant and constitutionally problematic.
Charges Dropped Against Florida Man, Because the First Amendment Protects His "I Eat Ass" Bumper Sticker
No ifs, ands, or butts about it.
Twitter Suspends Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Parody Account for 'Spammy Behavior,' Which Seems Dubious
Conservatives say they are subject to a double standard.
Hail Satan? A New Documentary Shows Devil Worshipers Are Unlikely Defenders of the First Amendment
Director Penny Lane chronicles the rise of the Satanic Temple, a group that combines theatrical stunts with political activism.
The Satanic Temple Sues After a City Rejects Its Pentagram-Covered Veteran Monument
The group takes its First Amendment crusade to a public park in Minnesota.
Cancel Culture Comes for Counterculture Comics
Today it's creators, not cops, who want to banish R. Crumb, onetime king of the comics underground.
Hail Satan? A New Documentary Depicts Devil Worshipers as Unlikely Defenders of the First Amendment
Director Penny Lane chronicles the rise of the Satanic Temple, a group that combines theatrical stunts with political activism.
Rule Change on Abortion Referrals 'Creates Unreasonable Barriers' Says U.S. Judge
Plus: "we need a president who recognizes sex work as work," says Mike Gravel; how kid-friendly pot paraphernalia killed decriminalization; more...
Nabbing Robert Kraft Helped Florida Prosecutors Get Headlines. Now Kraft and Other Orchids of Asia Customers Are Fighting Back
They're joined by an arrested spa owner and manager in fighting the release of surveillance video, with an array of big media companies on the other side.
The PTO's Prissy, Puzzling Rules for Registering Trademarks Are Fuct Up
The owner of a clothing line asks the Supreme Court to overturn the ban on "scandalous" trademarks because it violates the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court Declines to Hear the Case of a Rapper Convicted for His Anti-Cop Lyrics
The case drew support from rappers like Killer Mike, Chance the Rapper, and Meek Mill.
The Assange Exception to the First Amendment
Freedom of the press is not limited to "legitimate journalists."
Punishing Assange Isn't Worth Killing a Free Press: Reason Roundup
Plus: Christians and bureaucrats versus Tarot in Virginia, and Democratic candidates on restoring voting rights to prisoners
High School Suspends 2 Students for Posting Gun Range Photos on Snapchat, ACLU Files Suit
"Sharing our completely legal weekend activities on Snapchat should not result three days of in-school suspensions," Cody Conroy told Reason.
John McWhorter: America Has Never Been Less Racist
The Columbia University linguist discusses the Jussie Smollett hoax, Donald Trump, and "antiracism" as a new secular religion.
John McWhorter: America Has Never Been Less Racist
Columbia linguist John McWhorter on the Jussie Smollett hoax, Donald Trump, and "antiracism" as a new secular religion.
Fake News and the First Amendment: Free Speech Rules (Episode 3)
Episode 3 of Free Speech Rules, starring UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh
Activists Disrupt Law Professor's Talk at the University of Chicago
"This is not a terribly effective tactic of persuasion, loudly yelling so students can't hear."
