First Amendment News

Claiming it will hurt morale in its agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is blocking the publication of a book by Special Agent John Dodson. The book describes the disastrous ATF plan that sold assault rifles to Mexicans which they would track to arrest drug traffickers. Instead the agency lost contact with the rifles which were then used in hundreds of murders in Mexico. (The Washington Times, October 6, 2013, by

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law requiring government officials to give the media five-day notice before seizing phone or other records from phone companies and Internet service providers. (Courthouse News Service, October 7, 2013, by Elizabeth Warmerdam) According to the California Newspaper Publishers Association, October 4, 2013, “The Governor’s approval of SB 558 by Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) provides California journalists with some of the strongest Shield Law protections in the nation.”

Two lawmakers in the House of Representatives are joining a Senate effort create a Office of Constitutional Advocate to push for civil liberties in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court. The new advocate would insure that the court heard arguments for protecting individual rights against the domestic spying of the National Security Agency. The Attorney General would also be required to reveal details of significant FISA court decisions while the advocate would report to Congress

A New York federal district judge ruled found that the National Jewish Democratic Council did not defame Las Vegas gambling czar Sheldon Adelson in a website post on alleged prostitution in Adelson’s Macau casinos. The judge wrote that the council speech consisted of  reports of a judicial proceeding and opinions protected under the First Amendment. (Bloomberg News, September 30, 2013, by Bob Van Voris) The post cited a lawsuit by a former Adelson employee who

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill preventing paparazzi from taking photos or videotapes of a child in an harassing manner if the child’s parent is a celebrity or public official. The penalty for violating the law is up to a year in prison and a possible fine of $10,000. The California Newspaper Publishers Association opposed the bill as contrary to the First Amendment rights to gather news in public places where there is no