First Amendment News

First Amendment experts say that by picking which news outlet to cover a public event, the Florida governor practiced viewpoint and content discrimination, a violation of the First Amendment. Governor Ron DeSantis blocked all news outlets except for Fox News from covering the signing of a voting bill. (Miami Herald, May 7, 2021, by Steve Contorno) Law professor Clay Clavert cited a 2007 federal court decision that held that reporters could not be prevented from

The Facebook oversight board delegated to decide on former President Donald Trump’s use of the platform extended the ban on Trump another six months with the stipulation that Facebook must decide itself at that time whether to make it permanent. The board layered its point about responsibility by criticizing the company’s suspending Trump indefinitely rather than making a permanent decision. (The New York Times, May 6, 2021, by Kevin Roose) Eric Goldman in Technology &

A North Carolina judge turned down a request for body camera video of sheriff’s deputies shooting and killing of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man. The judge cited the dangers of damaging an ongoing investigation or risking the lives of people shown in the video. He did allow the man’s family to see the videos, one with redactions. (WRAL.com, April 28, 2021, by Ben Findley and Jonathan Drew of The Associated Press) The judge said

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