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First Amendment News

Secretary of State makes major address declaring internet freedom a basic human right

donal brown January 21, 2010

Hillary Clinton warned that a new information curtain is descending across the world, electronic barriers comprised of censorship and surveillance. -DB Wired Commentary January 21, 2010 By Nathan Hodge It was almost too easy. In a major speech today on net freedom, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reached back to Winston Churchill — and to Ronald Reagan — in arguing for a future in which access to networks and information is a basic human right.

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Arizona: Federal district judge rules out public financing in elections to achieve equitable spending

donal brown January 21, 2010

Political candidates in Arizona will no longer be able to count on a government subsidy if they fall behind in campaign donations. A federal judge ruled that the system violated the free speech rights of privately funded candidates. -DB First Amendment Center January 20, 2010 By Paul Davenport PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s system of providing extra campaign cash to publicly funded candidates who are outspent by privately funded opponents or targeted by independent groups was declared

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Supreme Court finds key part of campaign finance law unconstitutional

donal brown January 21, 2010

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the McCain-Feingold finance law violated the free speech rights of corporations to spend as much as they wished to back or oppose political candidates. -DB Courthouse News Service January 21, 2010 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Supreme Court today killed a central part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law and ruled that corporations may spend as much as they wish to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress.

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High court rules for open criminal trials

donal brown January 20, 2010

The U.S. Supreme Court found that under the First Amendment, the public has the right of access to jury selection under the First and Sixth Amendments. The ruling came in a case in which a trial judge had excluded a criminal defendant’s uncle from viewing jury selection to keep the prospective jurors from mingling with the audience. -DB The National Law Journal January 20, 2010 By Tony Mauro The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday strengthened

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Internet raises stakes in cases pitting public disclosure against right to privacy

donal brown January 19, 2010

In Doe v. Reed, the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh the right to privacy under the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech and association against the need for open government and transparency in public elections. -DB First Amendment Center Commentary January 19, 2010 By Tony Mauro WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court has agreed to review a case that presents the classic tension between public disclosure and personal privacy but with the added twist

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