First Amendment

2688 ABA Journal First Amendment articles.

Michigan Appeals Court to Consider Anonymity for Blogger Who Criticized Cooley Law School

The Michigan Court of Appeals will consider today whether to protect the identity of a blogging former law student who criticized his alma mater, the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law. Public Citizen lawyer Paul Levy will appear on behalf of the anonymous blogger who questioned Cooley’s employment statistics and…

Dec 12, 2012 3:26 PM CST

‘Festivus Pole’ Featuring Beer Cans Goes Up, with City’s OK, Next to Traditional Nativity Scene

When his efforts over the past five years to get the city of Deerfield Beach, Fla., to eliminate a nativity scene displayed next to a busy intersection on a city firehouse lawn weren’t successful, Chaz Stevens tried another approach. He applied for city permission to put up a “Festivus Pole”…

Dec 11, 2012 7:28 PM CST

Cert Petition Seeks to Overturn Sanction for Pro Se Litigant’s ‘Imperative Use of the F-Bomb’

A U.S. Supreme Court cert petition filed by the federal public defender in South Carolina seeks to overturn a contempt conviction for a pro se litigant who used the F-word when a federal judge dismissed one of his multiple suits against prison officials. The cert petition (PDF) asks whether Robert…

Dec 10, 2012 11:30 AM CST

As Sites Like Yelp Increase in Popularity, More Consumers Get Sued for Defamation

A Virginia woman has been hit with a defamation suit after claiming in an online Yelp review that a contractor damaged her home and possibly stole her jewelry. Jane Perez called her contractor a “nightmare,” but says now she’s living her own bad dream, the Washington Post reports. Her contractor,…

Dec 6, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Six Strip as San Francisco Lawmakers OK New Ban on Public Nudity

At least six audience members stripped down and began shouting after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a ban on public nudity. Prepared for the protest of the controversial legislation, sheriff’s deputies covered the protesters with blankets and escorted them from the meeting, the San Francisco Chronicle…

Dec 5, 2012 9:37 PM CST

Atheists Opposing Religious Displays on Public Property Employ ‘Join ‘Em’ Strategy

Atheists who oppose Nativity scenes and other religious displays on public property are trying a new tack. The atheists are vying for equal time and space so they can post their own message, according to a column by Charles Haynes, director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum…

Nov 30, 2012 12:00 PM CST

Supreme Court Gives Nod to Citizens Who Record Police, Amidst Reports of Multiple Arrests

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a federal appeals court decision finding it unconstitutional to enforce an Illinois state law that makes it a felony to videotape police officers working in public if a microphone is turned on. The law had been challenged by the American Civil Liberties…

Nov 26, 2012 6:42 PM CST

Judge Allows Teen to Avoid Prison with Mandate for 10 Years of Church Attendance

An Oklahoma judge is defending his decision to require a teen to attend church for 10 years as part of a deferred prison sentence for manslaughter in a fatal car crash. Judge Mike Norman told ABC News it’s not the first time he imposed such a requirement. “The Lord works…

Nov 20, 2012 12:40 PM CST

Alito Defends Citizens United, Says Opponents’ Bumper Stickers Are Pithy but Misguided

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. says opponents of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision have waged a successful public relations campaign, even if their point is misguided. Opponents have targeted Citizens United for its holding that corporations have a First Amendment right to expressly support political candidates with independent spending.…

Nov 19, 2012 2:35 PM CST

6th Circuit: Lawyer Must Pay $300K for Using Stock Photos to Create Morphed Child Porn Trial Exhibit

A federal appeals court has approved a $300,000 award against an Ohio lawyer rejecting the attorney’s arguments that he had a First Amendment right to morph stock photos into child pornography as part of a defense trial exhibit and that no one was harmed by his doing so. Dean Boland…

Nov 12, 2012 6:08 PM CST

In Lopsided Vote, Montana Voters Express Disapproval of Citizens United

Montanans aren’t giving up the fight after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in June that the Citizens United campaign finance ruling applies in the state. Seventy-five percent of Montana voters on Tuesday approved an initiative calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, report the Wall Street Journal Law…

Nov 9, 2012 2:17 PM CST

Federal Judge Blocks Internet Disclosure Mandate in Voter-Approved Sex Trafficking Law

A federal judge in San Francisco has issued a temporary restraining order blocking an Internet disclosure requirement in a sex-trafficking law approved on Tuesday by California voters. U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson cited First Amendment concerns in his order, report the San Francisco Chronicle and the Bay City News Service.…

Nov 8, 2012 2:40 PM CST

If You Snapped a Photo of Your Filled-in Ballot, You May Have Violated the Law in Your State

Now that Election Day has come and gone, voters finally put an end to a long season characterized by hard-fought campaigns and bitter debates about political issues. But legal questions are likely to remain with us for some time, including the validity of ballots cast in a world that increasingly…

Nov 7, 2012 4:45 PM CST

Supreme Court: Anti-Abortion Protester May Be Entitled to Attorney Fees Based on Injunction

An anti-abortion protester in South Carolina is a prevailing party who may be entitled to attorney fees, even though he did not win any damages, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Steven Lefemine of Columbia Christians for Life won a permanent injunction restricting the sheriff’s police in Greenwood County from…

Nov 5, 2012 4:59 PM CST

Can False Hurricane Tweets Spur Prosecution? Legal Experts See Some First Amendment Hurdles

New York prosecutors aren’t saying whether they will file charges against a Twitter user who tweeted false news of Hurricane Sandy, including an assertion that the New York Stock Exchange was under three feet of water. The person sending the dire news was outed as Shashank Tripathi, the now former…

Nov 5, 2012 1:39 PM CST

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First Amendment

Michigan Appeals Court to Consider Anonymity for Blogger Who Criticized Cooley Law School

‘Festivus Pole’ Featuring Beer Cans Goes Up, with City’s OK, Next to Traditional Nativity Scene

Cert Petition Seeks to Overturn Sanction for Pro Se Litigant’s ‘Imperative Use of the F-Bomb’

As Sites Like Yelp Increase in Popularity, More Consumers Get Sued for Defamation

Six Strip as San Francisco Lawmakers OK New Ban on Public Nudity

Atheists Opposing Religious Displays on Public Property Employ ‘Join ‘Em’ Strategy

Supreme Court Gives Nod to Citizens Who Record Police, Amidst Reports of Multiple Arrests

Judge Allows Teen to Avoid Prison with Mandate for 10 Years of Church Attendance

Alito Defends Citizens United, Says Opponents’ Bumper Stickers Are Pithy but Misguided

6th Circuit: Lawyer Must Pay $300K for Using Stock Photos to Create Morphed Child Porn Trial Exhibit

In Lopsided Vote, Montana Voters Express Disapproval of Citizens United

Federal Judge Blocks Internet Disclosure Mandate in Voter-Approved Sex Trafficking Law

If You Snapped a Photo of Your Filled-in Ballot, You May Have Violated the Law in Your State

Supreme Court: Anti-Abortion Protester May Be Entitled to Attorney Fees Based on Injunction

Can False Hurricane Tweets Spur Prosecution? Legal Experts See Some First Amendment Hurdles

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