First Amendment News

The U.S. Supreme Court passed up an opportunity to safeguard the right to protest in refusing to decide if a demonstration leader could be sued for injury to a law enforcement officer perpetrated by a member of the protest. A police officer hit in the head by a rock or piece of concrete sued Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson claiming he was liable for “the reasonably foreseeable consequences of [his] one’s own negligent, illegal

To fight the lack of transparency in California state government, CalMatters is establishing Digital Democracy: a database with information on state issues; a website to view state agendas and get information about state legislators, their activities, politics, policy interests. campaign finances and personal backgrounds; and a smart AI tool that can search data and provide ideas for journalists. (CalMatters, April 9, 2024, by Sonya Quick) For related FAC coverage, click here.

The UC Berkeley law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky says that a protest staged at his home during a law student dinner was not within the bounds of First Amendment protection. “No one has the right to come into my house, or yours, and disrupt a dinner,” said Chemerinsky. The Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine mounted the protest. (ABA Journal, April 11, 2024, by Debra Cassens Weiss) In his commentary on the incident, Josh

Caitlin Vogus of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, April 2, 2024, reports that already in 2024, there has been four arrests or detentions of journalists covering protests. Police are still routinely detaining journalists in spite of successful lawsuits against law enforcement. But even if the journalists ultimately prevail in court, they are still prevented from covering protests to provide the public with knowledge of important events. When students staged a sit-in at Vanderbilt University

Kimberly Wehle in The Hill, April 3, 2024, argues that ex-president Donald Trump’s claim that his “political speech” is protected by the First Amendment fails under scrutiny. Free speech has its limits particularly when used in criminal behavior, When Trump stated that the 2020 election was stolen and entered into a conspiracy to overturn the election, he could no longer hide behind the First Amendment. American Civil Liberties Union lawyers write that they have defended