News & Opinion

As Alex Murdaugh is sentenced to life in prison for murdering two family members, Michael M. DeWitt, Jr. in the Greenville News, March 15, 2023, writes, “The Murdaugh saga is a sweeping epic of generations of power and entitlement that led to outright crime and corruption, but on a deeper level it is also a testament to the power of the South Carolina press and the need to support local journalism.” In investigating financial and

In refusing to hear the case en banc, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reaffirmed the rising prominence of compelled speech in First Amendment cases. A plaintiff had held that the Miss United States America contest was discriminatory in limiting contestants to those who are “natural born female.” The court noted that the district court was right in ruling the First Amendment protects the beauty pageant’s “expressive association rights to exclude a person who

Stanford internet research scholar Riana Pfefferkorn in techdirt, March 9, 2023, writes that if Section 230 is weakened, it would make it more difficult for food poisonings to come to light. Last year through Twitter and Instagram users, it emerged that a lentil and leak dish from meal-kit company Daily Harvest was responsible for making over 400 people sick, a third of whom were hospitalized. Social media users shared their experiences, warning others to avoid

The Supreme Court punted on the case of a group of atheists suing Ocala, Florida for arranging a Christian prayer vigil in the wake of a drive-by shooting injuring children. A lower court found that the city violated the First Amendment in arranging the vigil, but the city wanted the Supreme Court to rule on the case in light of the June ruling for a public high school coach who prayed after games. The case

Pen America CEO Suzanne Nossel, The Guardian, March 10, 2023, writes that 32 states are considering laws to curb drag performances. Nossel says, “Most bills define a drag performer as someone performing while using dress, makeup and mannerisms associated with a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth.” The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that clothing choice is protected under the First Amendment. Philosophy professor Mark Satta, FlaglerLive, March 6, 2023, writes