First Amendment News

The Trump administration suffered a defeat as a federal judge blocked an executive order abolishing federal diversity training for the government and its contractors. Judge Beth Labson Freeman approved an injunction in a lawsuit brought by LGBT rights groups. The judge said the group had a good chance of winning the suit on First Amendment grounds. (USA TODAY, December 24, 2020, by Jessica Guynn) “In its ruling, the court held that Section 4 of the

Margaret Sullivan, Washington Post, December 20, 2020, writes that local journalism is alive but unwell with newsrooms journalists shrinking in numbers. There are still noteworthy instances of outstanding investigations exposing injustices and holding elected officials to account, but 55 news outlets have vanished during the pandemic. Richard Cohen, The New Republic, December 14, 2020, writes that as newsrooms shut down the costs of government go up in the absence of scrutiny of contracts. It’s time

The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concurred with a lower court that a citizen has the right to secretly record police officers working in public spaces. The decision reaffirms the district court ruling that the Massachusetts wiretap law violated the First Amendment in outlawing such recording. (ACLU of Massachusetts, December 16, 2020, press release) The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed an amicus brief in the case arguing that the right to

A Washington state judge blocked the release of public records of a federal law enforcement shooting on September 3 of a self-proclaimed anti-fascist charged in a August 29 shooting of a Patriot Prayer supporter in Portland. The law enforcement officers said Michael Forest Reinoehl drew a gun or pointed a gun and then was shot. Eye witnesses said the feds did not announce themselves before firing a barrage killing Reinoehl. The sheriff’s lawsuit that the

Aware that it may abridge free speech rights, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that bans the sale on state property of swastikas and Confederate flags promoting racism and generating violent acts against religious and ethnic groups. Cuomo admitted that the law needed changes to maintain free speech protections. (The Hill, December 16, 2020, by Kaelan Deese) But First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams was less sure that only a few tweaks were needed