First Amendment

The Home Depot’s request for employee to remove ‘BLM’ letters from apron was justified, 8th Circuit rules

Special circumstances justified the Home Depot’s request for a Minneapolis-area employee to remove the letters “BLM” from his apron three months after the 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a federal appeals court ruled last week.

Nov 12, 2025 10:44 AM CST

A Rastafarian goes to the Supreme Court after a prison shaved his dreadlocks

By the time Damon Landor arrived at a Louisiana corrections center to serve out a sentence for drug possession in 2020, he had maintained his Rastafarian vow to let his hair grow for nearly two decades.

Nov 10, 2025 9:54 AM CST

Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to landmark gay marriage ruling

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a challenge to its landmark 2015 decision recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Nov 10, 2025 9:38 AM CST

Charlie Kirk’s widow calls for cameras in courtrooms, renewing efforts for access to all federal courts

The widow of slain conservative political activist Charlie Kirk has called for the murder trial of his suspected killer to be on camera, prompting a top Republican U.S. senator to renew calls for legislation allowing video cameras in federal courtrooms nationwide.

Nov 5, 2025 10:33 AM CST

Law prof fired for online comments after Charlie Kirk’s death that led to ‘torrent of complaints’

A law professor who called conservative political activist Charlie Kirk “an evil man” on Facebook after his shooting death has been fired from her position at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s William H. Bowen School of Law.

Oct 21, 2025 12:37 PM CDT

Supreme Court sharply questions law banning conversion therapy

The Supreme Court sounded deeply skeptical Tuesday about a Colorado law banning conversion therapy for gay and transgender minors, suggesting the justices may scuttle the statute and similar restrictions in nearly 30 states.

Oct 7, 2025 1:28 PM CDT

Immigration lawyer who criticized ICE online and on TV wins TRO after his phone is seized at airport

An immigration attorney whose phone was seized at Boston Logan International Airport has won a temporary restraining order barring the federal government from searching the phone and analyzing any data already collected.

Oct 6, 2025 12:58 PM CDT

Supreme Court rejects bid to sue Meta over church shooting

The U.S. Supreme Court declined a chance to open social media companies to lawsuits over content recommended by their algorithms, turning away an appeal that accused Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook of radicalizing a man who killed nine South Carolina churchgoers.

Oct 6, 2025 9:39 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: New SCOTUS term includes cases that will have profound effect on law, American society

The October 2025 term officially begins, as always, on the first Monday in October, and once more there is a strong sense that it is going to be a momentous year in the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the justices have been officially in recess since June 27, it was a summer filled with unprecedented activity on the court’s emergency docket, as the justices considered the constitutionality of many actions taken by President Donald Trump's administration.

Sep 30, 2025 10:01 AM CDT

Should there be discipline for employees’ controversial social media posts?

Updated: No First Amendment protection exists for private employees’ speech. However, after the death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, some lawyers emphasize the importance of individually assessing workers’ controversial public statements, rather than immediate termination.

Sep 25, 2025 1:31 PM CDT

Professor in court fight over Charlie Kirk post is temporarily reinstated

A federal court on Wednesday temporarily reinstated a University of South Dakota professor who was put on administrative leave after making negative comments on social media about Charlie Kirk on the same day that the conservative activist was shot.

Sep 25, 2025 10:53 AM CDT

Jimmy Kimmel is back, but free speech concerns continue

According to First Amendment lawyers interviewed by the ABA Journal, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s comments appear to conflict with U.S. Supreme Court precedent, including its 2024 ruling in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo.

Sep 24, 2025 2:56 PM CDT

Why a federal judge quickly tossed Trump’s ‘florid and enervating’ suit against the New York Times

Lawyers for President Donald Trump will have to trim more than half the pages from their $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times after a federal judge quickly tossed the suit for violating a procedural rule requiring a short and plain statement of the facts.

Sep 22, 2025 10:35 AM CDT

Law prof at public university suspended for Charlie Kirk comments; does that violate First Amendment?

Online comments about the death of political activist Charlie Kirk have led to the suspension of an assistant clinical education professor at the University of Arkansas Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.

Sep 18, 2025 12:44 PM CDT

Trump files defamation and libel lawsuit against New York Times

President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against the New York Times and four of its reporters, accusing the newspaper of libeling him in several articles in the lead-up to last year’s presidential election.

Sep 16, 2025 11:16 AM CDT