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Federal judge bags Michigan law limiting funeral protests

donal brown September 12, 2011

A federal judge ruled that Michigan’s law limiting funeral protests was unconstitutional in prohibiting conduct that would “adversely affect” a funeral. The judge said the law violated the First Amendment and was unconstitutionally vague. The ACLU sued on behalf of an army veteran and his wife arrested for displaying signs and bumper stickers critical of then President George W. Bush while riding in a 2007 funeral procession of a friend killed in Iraq. -db From

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Oakland museum cancels art exhibit of Palestinian children

donal brown September 12, 2011

The heavy hand of censorship is reaching the artwork of children. An Oakland children’s museum cancelled an exhibit or artwork by Palestinian children, ages 9 to 11, depicting the violence of  Israeli assaults against Palestine during 2008-09. In cancelling the exhibit, the museum was reacting to community protests. -db From the San Francisco Chronicle, September 10, 2011, by Jill Tucker. Full story

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ACLU sues Orange County Supervisors for silencing public

donal brown September 12, 2011

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Orange County Board of Supervisors for their policies regulating controversial commentary at their public meetings. The suit came after the supervisors cut off a speaker who in their opinion had wrongly criticized Vietnamese immigrants. -db For the Voice of OC, September 9, 2011, by Tracy Wood. Full story

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Innocence project decision takes liberties in defining ‘journalist ‘ under the First Amendment

donal brown September 12, 2011

By ruling that Northwestern University journalism students  had to surrender internal e-mails concerning their efforts to free a man convicted of murder in 1978, Cook County judge concluded that the students were “investigators” working for the defense. In a commentary for the First Amendment Center, Gene Policinski points out that the First Amendment does not specify anything about the differences between reporting and investigating. “Nothing in the First Amendment defines a ‘free press’ in terms

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A&A: Police refuse request for incident report from peaceful protest

FAC September 9, 2011

Q: In August 2010 myself and three others were passing out Christian prolife materials to clients approaching a Planned Parenthood (PP) clinic. The PP is located in a public commercial strip mall and shares a common parking lot with the other businesses. A private security official threatened us with arrest if we did not move off the parking areas. We were not blocking, or occupying any spaces. We declined and five Sheriff’s deputies eventually arrived.

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