First Amendment News

A federal judge ruled that the Georgia state shield law protects a former Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter from revealing sources. A journalism professor had brought an invasion of privacy suit against the reporter asking her to identify the sources. -DB The Atlanta Journal-Constitution May 5, 2009 By Bill Rankin A former Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter does not have to testify in a case brought by journalism professor John Soloski against the University of Georgia, a federal judge

When someone calls another person a Communist in the Vietnamese-American community, it carries a load of emotionally-charged baggage. That makes it difficult to defend defamation charges even if the target of the allegation is a public figure. -DB Citizen Media Law Project May 6, 2009 By Eric Robinson In the United States after the Cold War, saying that someone is a Communist may not have the same sting that it did during the the decades

Civil libertarians have accused the British government of censorship for their travel restrictions on talk show host Michael Savage. Since 2005 the British have excluded numbers of people for unacceptable behavior including spreading hatred. Savage had called the Quran “a book of hate.” -DB San Francisco Chronicle May 6, 2009 By Joe Garofoli and Carla Marinucci SAN FRANCISCO – Conservative talk show host Michael Savage’s commentary has offended groups from parents of autistic kids to

A California appeals court ruled that the anti-SLAPP law against lawsuits brought to silence government critics did not apply in a case where a lawyer allegedly made anonymous calls to Boeing to accuse one of its employees of terrorism. –DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise May 4, 2009 By Steven M. Ellis The Fourth District Court of Appeal has rejected a Santa Monica attorney’s attempt to strike a complaint alleging she anonymously telephoned aircraft manufacturer Boeing to accuse