donal brown

A New York state judge ruled that the New York Times did not libel then President Donald Trump in a 2020 column asserting there was a deal between Trump and the Russians that they would help defeat Hillary Clinton in exchange for a pro-Russian foreign policy. The judge found that the column was opinion and that Trump had failed to demonstrate actual malice. (The Hollywood Reporter, March 10, 2021, by Eriq Gardner) The judge also

A federal judge denied a newspaper editor’s release from a halfway house after the man sued the prison system for punishing him for rule violations for reporting a Covid-19 outbreak at the facility. Keith “Malik” Washington is serving a sentence for a parole violation after a 2010 conviction for bank robbery in Texas. Washington is editor-in-chief for the Sam Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper. The judge directed Washington to seek relief through an administrative

An Iowa reporter was acquitted of two criminal charges stemming after her arrest in 2020 covering protests over George Floyd’s murder. Police say they warned Andrea Sahouri to leave the protest area then pepper sprayed her before detaining her. Civil rights groups were appalled that the case even went to trial. “The facts of [Sahouri’s] arrest are appalling, but the fact that the state has pressed on in prosecuting her after these facts became apparent

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a student could pursue his lawsuit against Georgia Perimeter College for restricting his speaking out on campus about his Christian faith. The college changed its policy and attempted to declare the case moot, but the Court said that the student could pursue his free speech case by seeking $1 in damages. (Kentucky Today, March 8, 2021, by Scott Barkley) Writing for the majority, Clarence Thomas said the token amount