Media & Communications Law

News organizations challenge Virginia’s ban on attorneys sending court records to reporters

Lee Enterprises and Courthouse News on Tuesday filed suit against the court administration of Virginia, challenging a law that forbids attorneys from sharing public court records, according to Courthouse News Service.

Dec 11, 2025 9:53 AM CST

Law student’s post that ‘Jews must be abolished’ wasn’t true threat justifying expulsion, judge rules

A law student who argued in a seminar paper that federal courts “have the power to arrest the dispossession of white America” and posted on X, formerly Twitter, that “Jews must be abolished” was expressing opinions that are likely protected under the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled last week.

Dec 2, 2025 2:44 PM CST

Facebook owner Meta is not an illegal monopoly, judge rules

A federal judge has rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to force Meta to divest its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the government hadn’t made its case that the Facebook owner is an illegal monopoly.

Nov 19, 2025 9:10 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

Lawyer’s popular Instagram account is kaput after no-contest plea to misconduct deemed ‘standard operating procedure’

A California lawyer with a big social media presence should be disbarred after pleading no contest to facts underpinning multiple acts of alleged misconduct involving 10 imprisoned clients and 13 cases, according to a stipulation and conclusions of law approved by a state bar court judge.

Oct 22, 2025 9:33 AM CDT

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 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

‘Whirlwind’: Bill Kurtis memoir tells how law school trained him for covering trials

The ABA Journal talked with the retired CBS News anchor and executive producer of many legal-oriented television documentary series—including Cold Case Files, American Greed and Investigative Reports—at his home outside Chicago.

Oct 2, 2025 9:08 AM CDT

Judge blocks Kari Lake from laying off over 500 Voice of America staffers

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth temporarily blocked the layoffs of more than 500 Voice of America employees, delivering a setback to the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the United States’ international broadcasting agency.

Sep 30, 2025 10:24 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

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

Supreme Court clears way for Mississippi law requiring parental consent to use social media

The Supreme Court cleared the way for now for a Mississippi law that requires age verification to use social media and parental consent before minors can create accounts, a setback for the technology group that challenged the measure.

Aug 14, 2025 2:09 PM CDT