News & Opinion

Meat producers from Canada and Mexico argued in federal appeals court on May 19 that the U.S. requirement for country-of-origin labels on meat products violated their First Amendment rights and that the labels were a thinly disguised effort to promote U.S. products. (CTV News, May 19, 2014, by Alexander Panetta) A three-judge panel of the D.C. U.S. Court of Appeals had earlier ruled that the label rules were allowable. Defenders of the rules said that

A gadget retailer lost a lawsuit in federal court after it retaliated against a Utah couple who posted a critical review online about the retailer’s service. KlearGear had attempted to force the couple to pay it $3,500 for criticizing it. (The Salt Lake Tribune, May 20, 2014, by Pamela Manson) KlearGear claimed the review violated its “non-disparagement clause” in its terms of service that reads, “In an effort to ensure fair and honest public feedback,

A media alliance filed a lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections to obtain records pertaining to the state’s use of lethal drugs in executions. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the ACLU of Missouri and a St. Louis radio reporter joined in the suit. (RCFOP, May 15, 2014, press release) The Associated Press, the Guardian US and three other media outlets challenged the “state secret doctrine” in suing Missouri for information about

A federal district judge accepted amicus briefs from a media coalition and the First Amendment Coalition in support of the NCAA in their June antitrust trial pitting them against former college athletes claiming that the NCAA is unfairly profiting from their likenesses. The judge also denied the NCAA’s motion to dismiss certain arguments. (Courthouse News Service, May 14, 2014, by Nick McCann) With the fight intensifying over whether the First Amendment prevents student athletes from

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau chose not speak at the Haverford College graduation after students and faculty demanded an apology for the campus police beating of Occupy Wall Street protestors in 2011. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and International Money Fund’s Christine Lagarde also withdrew from speaking engagements faced with threats of demonstrations. (Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2014, by Matt Pearce) Free speech advocates are concerned about the trend. Greg Lukianoff of the