First Amendment News

When The Associated Press asked U.S. governors for records on their decision-making on pandemic shutdowns, they did not receive any records from 20 states. The state governments claim staff are working from home or dealing with crisis management so can’t provide information to the public. Many states have altered open records laws to avoid deadlines. (The Associated Press, March 14, 2021, by David A. Lieb) Observers say that transparency is essential during the pandemic so

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