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First Amendment News

Report says press freedom eroding with shift to online media

donal brown February 10, 2010

A report in CQ Researcher says that with no way established to charge for online news content, there is less money to spend accessing courts, public records and public meetings. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press February 9, 2010 By Cristina Abello As newspaper circulations drop and nightly news broadcasts garner fewer viewers, more people are getting their news online — a medium not as likely as traditional media to spend the

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Michigan reporter wins round in federal court to keep sources confidential

donal brown February 10, 2010

A federal court judge ruled that a Detroit Free Press reporter could invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination to allow him to keep the names of his sources in the Justice Department a secret. A federal prosecutor is suing for the names of his sources. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press February 9, 2010 By Cristina Abello A Michigan federal court today ruled that Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter properly

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Judges to jurors: No Twittering

donal brown February 9, 2010

Jurors can expect to be reminded of the limits of their free speech rights as a federal court body has released revised model jury instructions specifically forbidding jurors from using technology and the social media to communicate about cases in progress. -db Wired February 8, 2010 By David Kravets A federal court policy-making body is belatedly entering the internet age by proposing that judges clearly inform jurors they must not electronically discuss cases they are hearing.

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Stolen Valor Act challenged on First Amendment grounds

donal brown February 9, 2010

An attorney for a Denver man who lied that he earned a Purple Heart and Silver Star when serving in the  military in Iraq claims the lies are protected speech under the First Amendment. -db The Denver Post January 20. 2010 By Felisa Cardona Rick Strandlof may have lied about being a decorated Iraq War veteran, but those lies are protected by the First Amendment, according to his attorney and a civil liberties organization. Strandlof,

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Appeals panels in Pennsylvania rule in contradictory ways on student on-line speech

donal brown February 8, 2010

Free speech advocates are mulling over the decisions of two three-judge panel in appeals courts for the Third Circuit as the panels ruled separately that a student had the right to speak freely off-campus and that the school had a right to punish students for off-campus speech they deemed disruptive to the school. -db Student Press Law Center February 4, 2010 By Katie Maloney PENNSYLVANIA — Two three-judge panels of the United States Court of Appeals

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