First Amendment News

Justice Clarence Thomas stated again his antipathy for the free press in his dissent to denial of certiorari in Coal Ridge Ministries Media v. Southern Poverty Law Center. He wrote, “New York Times and its progeny have allowed media organizations and interest groups ‘to cast false aspersions on public figures with near impunity.’” (The Guardian, June 29, 2011, by Lawrence H. Tribe and Dennis Aftrergut) An editorial in the Las Vegas Sun, July 3, 2022,

Seventy-three journalists of the White House press corps signed a letter to the Biden administration asking them to stop prescreening journalists for presidential events. They said the process was an affront to the free press and left journalists wondering about the criteria used in the screening. (New York Post, June 30, 2022, by Steven Nelson) Indicating that the threat of COVID led to the restriction, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration was now

Sonoma County must release a report on an harassment complaint against an elected sheriff who claimed a California law protected personnel records of police officers. Referring to the report, a state appeals court wrote, “The truth and accuracy of such statements [the harassment complaint] must be open to testing in the public square. Indeed, the fact we are dealing with what may fairly be characterized as political speech among elected officials toward one another underscores

Free Speech Center’s Ken Pauson in Florida Today, July 3, 2022, writes that it is time on the Fourth of July to reflect on the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. He cites the sad case of Russia as an instance of what can happen if our rights vanish. “The Russian public has been told that their country is doing noble work ferreting out ‘Nazis’”, writes Paulson, “and that the West is engaged in its usual

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on First Amendment grounds that a high school football coach had the right to lead a voluntary prayer with his players on the field after games. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority that it was vital to allow religious expression, and not every school employee activity is official conduct, otherwise “a school could fire a Muslim teacher for wearing a head scarf in the classroom or prohibit a Christian