donal brown

In reference to the state of free speech on college campuses during an appearance on The Megan Kelly show, FIRE President Greg Lukianoff gave an impassioned defense of free speech. He said being offended is a vital part of a student’s education. “There is a humility to being in favor of freedom of speech, which is that you always take seriously the possibility you might be wrong,” Lukianoff said. (Washington Examiner, January 24, 2022, by

The U.S. Supreme Court seems likely to rule in Shurtleff v. Boston that Boston established a public forum in allowing third parties to fly flags at city hall and therefore could not prevent a Christian group from flying their flag. Banning the Christian flag would constitute viewpoint discrimination. The justices suggested that the city could ban all flags and stay within their constitutional rights. (Bloomberg Law, January 18, 2022, by Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson) When the

Vermont, Maine and Washington are considering laws to increase protection for election workers. Reuters found 850 threats and hostile messages to U.S. election officials and workers. Nearly all planted their threats in former President Donald Trump’s big lie that the election was stolen. The proposed laws would respect free speech protections but bring state laws more in concert with federal laws that make it easier to prosecute in case of violent threats. (Reuters, January 24,

A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals court ruled that San Francisco Mayor London Breed did not violate the First Amendment in pressing ad companies to take down two billboards paid for by Ellen Lee Zhou, an opposition candidate. Breed was in the clear so long as she did not threaten government action. (msn, January 14, 2022, by Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle) A federal district court had already dismissed claims that Breed caused

The U.S. Supreme Court denied former President Donald Trump’s request to stop the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection from obtaining presidential records. Contrary to Trump’s assertions, a lower court found a serious legislative need to see the documents and no valid executive privilege to withhold them since President Joe Biden has the power to withhold or release documents to Congress under these circumstances. (SCOTUSblog, January 19, 2022, by Amy Howe) The ruling also