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First Amendment News

British libel law reform shelved after stall in Parliament

donal brown April 12, 2010

The Labour government put aside legislation to reform libel laws after opposition developed in Parliament over fears that lawyers would not take libel cases given the law’s provision to cut their fees. The law had been widely anticipated for its promise to end “libel tourism” and preserve fee speech. -db The Independent UK April 8, 2010 By Robert Verkaik Plans to cut the profits of law firms who bring libel claims against the media have

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California state senator says e-mail about Palin speaking fee illegally withheld

donal brown April 11, 2010

A California state senator trying to get the California State University Stanislaus to disclose the fee it will pay Sarah Palin for speaking at a campus event in June claims that he can prove the school withheld information about the event that should be public. -db San Francisco Chronicle April 8, 2010 By Bob Egelko A Bay Area lawmaker who’s trying to force disclosure of Sarah Palin’s speaking fee for her upcoming $500-a-plate event at

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Irag video research edges Wikileaks into investigative reporting role

FAC April 8, 2010

Wikileaks has adopted the tools of investigative and advocacy journalism–including sending two people to Baghdad to research the story behind the Iraq video–to get leaked information out to the public. Iraq Video Brings Notice to a Web Site The New York Times By NOAM COHEN and BRIAN STELTER “Have encrypted videos of U.S. bomb strikes on civilians. We need super computer time,” stated the Web site, which calls itself “an intelligence agency of the people.”

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Petition-signing a public act says Washington State’s Supreme Court brief

FAC April 5, 2010

Is petition signing a private act? In advance of the April 21 U.S. Supreme Court hearing, Washington State conservatives have filed a brief calling it private; recently the Washington State AG filed a counter argument claiming it is a public act. The outcome could have impacts far beyond the original controversy, which started over petitions signed in support of a state referendum on gay rights. State to U.S. Supreme Court: R-71 signatures are public Seattle

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Former Pfizer research scientist awarded $1.37 million in whistle blower suit

donal brown April 4, 2010

A federal jury awarded a former Pfizer research scientist $1.37 million in damages after she was fired for claiming publicly  that she was sickened by a genetically engineered virus while working for the company. The decision rested not on whether the scientist was actually sickened by the virus but on the evidence that Pfizer had violated her free speech rights. -db The New York Times April 2, 2010 By Andrew Pollack and Duff Wilson A federal

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