First Amendment News

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a student could pursue his lawsuit against Georgia Perimeter College for restricting his speaking out on campus about his Christian faith. The college changed its policy and attempted to declare the case moot, but the Court said that the student could pursue his free speech case by seeking $1 in damages. (Kentucky Today, March 8, 2021, by Scott Barkley) Writing for the majority, Clarence Thomas said the token amount

While acknowledging the Biden administration’s respect for the press, reporters are increasingly upset with the failure of President Joe Biden to hold a formal news conference. Even Trump provided a conference by his time in his administration. (Vanity Fair, March 8, 2021, by Charlotte Klein) The Editorial Board of The Washington Post, March 7, 2021, praises Biden for bringing back daily briefings, telling the truth and giving TV and print interviews, but said there is

Members of a white supremacist organization will face charges of organizing violent riots in California as the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found the Anti-Riot Act violated the supremacists’ First Amendment right to advocate the use of force but did not extend to advocacy leading to “imminent lawless action…likely to incite or produce such action.” (Courthouse News Service, March 4, 2021, by Martin Macias Jr) While reinstating the indictments of the men, the Ninth

The Biden administration has backed off on sanctioning Saudi Arabia’s crown prince for his role in the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The administration released an intelligence report into the 2018 murder but said it would be “too complicated” to sanction the crown prince. (CNN, March 3. 2021, by Vivian Salama, Alex Marlquardt and Kylie Atwood) Both congressional Democrats and Republicans condemned the decision, and human rights groups called for a broader

It shouldn’t be hard for President Joe Biden to outperform his predecessor in bringing transparency to the office, but critics point out several failings particularly in not releasing White House visitor logs. Critics also want presidential press briefings, postings of daily schedules, and restoring the White House comment line. Beyond that there are calls for improving the response to public records requests, publishing Office of Legal Counsel opinions and addressing classification policies. (Politico, February 1,