donal brown

James Larock in Balls and Strikes, December 20, 2022, criticizes the U.S. Supreme Court for being “one of America’s least democratic institutions” for its makeup and its operation. He finds the court’s lack of transparency unnecessary and regrettable. He says the recent “decision not to stream opinion announcements is just another example of the Court choosing to limit its transparency even when providing it is easy.” Larock wants to hold the Supreme Court to a

Emma Camp in Reason, December 24, 2022, lists five misconceptions about the First Amendment 1. that you can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theater; 2. the belief that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ Stop WOKE Act can legitimately restrict speech; 3. there is a First Amendment right to shut down critics; 4. that police can restrict filming them in action; and 5. heckler’s vetoes are protected speech. For related FAC coverage, click here.

The U.S. Congress and state legislators made efforts to regulate online speech in 2022 while the U.S. Supreme Court will consider two cases, Twitter v. Taamneh and Gonzalez v. Google, that could result in rulings that would lead to censorship and restrictions on online speech. (Electronic Frontier Foundation, December 26, 2022, by Aaron Mackey and Joe Mullin) For related FAC coverage, click here, here and here.

The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Eric Dodge, a Washington state teacher, could pursue his First Amendment lawsuit challenging his principal’s disciplining him for wearing a MAGA hat to training sessions in 2019. (Jurist, December 30, 202, by Gwendolyn Devoy) The court said there was no disruption in wearing the hat, and if others felt offended by the hat, that did not override Dodge’s free speech rights. (Reuters, December 29, 2022, by