donal brown

A three-member panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit of Appeals ruled that the Detroit Free Press could publish mug shots of criminal defendants charged in federal court. But the panel called for an en banc hearing on the matter, citing the need to examine the rights of defendants to prevent release of their mug shots during criminal trails. (Detroit Free Press, August 13, 2015, by Katrease Stafford) The Free Press had filed a Freedom of

A federal district judge dealt a blow to New Hampshire’s ballot selfie law on the grounds that it restricted political speech. The judge dismissed the state’s claims that the law was needed to fight vote buying and voter coercion. (The Washington Post, August 13, 2015, by Amber Phillips) Legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union-New Hampshire, Gilles Bissonnette, said the ruling was a win for free expression, “Political speech is essential to a functioning

With Governor Jerry Brown’s signature, California passed two laws relating to police use of force. SB227 prohibits grand juries from conducting secret hearings to determine whether  a law enforcement officer should be charged with a crime following use of force against a person detained or arrested. SB411 reaffirms the right of citizens to take videos of police providing that the citizens are not resisting or obstructing an officer and are in a public place they

A new Mill Valley social media policy on town council members’ use of personal web accounts to converse with fellow council members and the public has been sidelined pending a California Supreme Court ruling on a San Jose case. The town wants to open access for community members while adhering to the Brown Act prohibition on conversations between council members constituting “meetings.”  (Marin Independent Journal, August 9, 2015, by Adrian Rodriguez) Marin County supervisors are

A New York federal district judge cited free speech in ruling that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could not prevent a company from promoting a drug for unapproved uses. The court ruled that Amarin Pharma Inc. could provide doctors with studies showing the drug Vascepa reduced moderately high blood fats without FDA approval of that use so long as the claims were truthful. (Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2015, by Thomas Burton) The FDA