First Amendment News

The American Civil Liberties Union and an author are protesting the ban on a book about the treatment of black men in the criminal justice system. The book says the system singles out black men and that prison should be abolished. The author Paul Butler, a law professor and former prosecutor, says there is nothing about the book that disrupts the prison or threatens the safety of guards and inmates. (The New York Times, May

Three organizations filed a lawsuit to force the Trump administration to keep and preserve records of the president’s meetings with foreign leaders as mandated by the Presidential Records Act. Barbara Keys of the Society of American Foreign Relations, one of the principals in the lawsuit, remarked of the Trump lapses, “Failing to make or keep records damages not only the capacity of history to render judgment in the future, but also of government to pursue

On behalf of five plaintiffs, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against Tennessee charging their law establishing criminal and civil penalties against groups conducting voter registration violate the Constitution. An earlier lawsuit brought by the NAACP and three other organizations charged that the law would “violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and have a chilling effect on the exercise of fundamental First Amendment rights.” (The First Amendment Encyclopedia, May

The Trump administration is not endorsing the international movement prompted by the massacre of Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand to stem terrorism and extremism on the social media. The administration said although they supported the movement’s goals, they were concerned about preserving freedom of speech. (Variety, May 15, 2019, by Todd Spangler) Internet free speech guardians were skeptical about the efficacy of the Christchurch Call, as the movement is called. Jillian C. York of the Electronic