donal brown

A Florida deputy sheriff escaped culpability for arresting a citizen photographing an accident scene in a ruling by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The officer confiscated the phone of the man and detained him in a patrol car for a half hour. In a 2-1 ruling, the court said there was no established right to take the photos of the police so the deputy was entitled to qualified immunity. The dissenting judge noted

The U.S. Supreme Court will rule whether a Texas community college can ensure one of its board members for making disruptive statements and leaking confidential information. A lower court found that a censure was merely a statement so did not violate free speech rights. (Scotusblog, April 26, 2021, by Amy Howe) The board member made anti-gay remarks and expressed his opposition to including sexual orientation in the college’s anti-discrimination policies. The college claimed the censure

During the protests over the shooting of Daunte Wright in Minnesota, police officers forced reporters to lie on the pavement until they could be photographed. It was unclear why they wanted photos when the reporters all had press credentials and other identification. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, April 25, 2021, by Grayson Clary) In taking the photos, police ignored a judge’s order to stop arresting and using force against journalists. Ultimately, the Minnesota

At least 83 countries used the pandemic to violate free speech and assembly rights and have targeted opposition groups and critics of government health initiatives. A record number of journalist found themselves imprisoned in 2020. (The Washington Post, April 20, 2021, by Ishaan Tharoor) Gerry Simpson of the Human Rights Watch, February 11, 2021, said “Governments should counter Covid-19 by encouraging people to mask up, not shut up. Beating, detaining, prosecuting, and censoring peaceful critics