Search

Categories

Total Results

No Record Found

View All Results
DONATE

donal brown

Federal judge orders release of memo on alleged Trump obstruction

donal brown May 7, 2021

Seeking transparency for Justice Department proceedings under former Attorney General William Barr, a federal judge ordered the release of a memo justifying its decision not to prosecute former President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice. In a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, department attorneys claimed the memo contained only an advisory on the matter and as such was an exception under the public records law, but Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the memo came after

Read More »

Florida bill signing exclusive a First Amendment violation?

donal brown May 7, 2021

First Amendment experts say that by picking which news outlet to cover a public event, the Florida governor practiced viewpoint and content discrimination, a violation of the First Amendment. Governor Ron DeSantis blocked all news outlets except for Fox News from covering the signing of a voting bill. (Miami Herald, May 7, 2021, by Steve Contorno) Law professor Clay Clavert cited a 2007 federal court decision that held that reporters could not be prevented from

Read More »

Facebook board avoids definitive decision in Trump ban

donal brown May 7, 2021

The Facebook oversight board delegated to decide on former President Donald Trump’s use of the platform extended the ban on Trump another six months with the stipulation that Facebook must decide itself at that time whether to make it permanent. The board layered its point about responsibility by criticizing the company’s suspending Trump indefinitely rather than making a permanent decision. (The New York Times, May 6, 2021, by Kevin Roose) Eric Goldman in Technology &

Read More »

U.S. Supreme Court hears crucial student speech case

donal brown April 30, 2021

School officials want to police student expression on the social media to curtail harassment, bullying and to establish standards of responsible speech. Critics fear that in protecting a school’s image, authorities would penalize legitimate criticism. In a case that could establish standards for regulating off-campus student speech, the U.S Supreme Court heard arguments concerning the discipline of a public high school student for using profane language in a Snapchat post. Law professor Noah Feldman, Bend

Read More »

Judge blocks release of video in North Carolina shooting

donal brown April 29, 2021

A North Carolina judge turned down a request for body camera video of sheriff’s deputies shooting and killing of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man. The judge cited the dangers of damaging an ongoing investigation or risking the lives of people shown in the video. He did allow the man’s family to see the videos, one with redactions. (WRAL.com, April 28, 2021, by Ben Findley and Jonathan Drew of The Associated Press) The judge said

Read More »