Asked & Answered

Q:  I was recently charged as a “disorderly person” after yelling out of my car window, “get off my lawn you fucking faggots,” as I passed people engaged in a protest. Is what I said protected by the First Amendment? A: Speech that insults someone because of race, gender or sexual orientation is understood in general parlance as “hate speech.”  As a general matter, such “hate speech” is protected under the First Amendment—however, there are limited categories of speech that

Q: A vendor is refusing to fulfill an order of artwork that parodies Trump because it includes the Twitter logo. Is the use of the Twitter logo for political parody protected by the First Amendment? If not how best should I proceed in persuading the vendor to print the artwork? A:  The scenario you describe raises an important intersection of trademark law and First Amendment protections.  Neither area of law lends itself to black-and-white answers,

Q: The police department is refusing to release the arrest report I’ve requested. Do they have to release the report under CPRA? A: The police department might be refusing to disclose the arrest report on the ground that it is a law enforcement investigatory record exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act, Gov’t Code § 6254(f).  However, police are required to release certain information related to arrests, unless the disclosure of such information “would endanger

Q: While investigating a story in Florida I requested a contract. Unfortunately, the copy I was given was heavily redacted including the financial information for the project that is of public interest, what should I do? A: It appears that Florida’s statute, Fla. Stat. section 119, governs access to public records. Here is a link: You might want to first review this statute to see what it says about exemptions and redactions (see Section 119.07(d),

Q:  I honked my vehicle’s horn at a police officer not paying attention when a red stop light turned green. How does one’s right to free speech apply in this case? A:  California has a vehicle code provision that prohibits the use of horns other than by “the driver of a motor vehicle when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation.” Cal. Veh. Code § 27001 (West).  If using your horn was reasonable necessary for safety reasons, your