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High school student suspended for critical Facebook posting

donal brown February 28, 2011

A Mississippi high school senior is suing his school administration in federal court for suspending him for a rap song he wrote off campus in his free time and posted on Facebook. The song criticized two coaches he observed who allegedly flirted with female students and contacted intimate  body parts of the students. The senior was sentenced to seven days of suspension and five weeks of alternate school. -db From Courthouse News Service, February 28,

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Opinion: Pentagon stonewalls secrecy reform

donal brown February 28, 2011

The Defense Department is out of step with the Obama administration’s efforts to modernize the national security classification system to prevent excessive classification writes Steven Aftergood in Secrecy News. Aftergood notes that Defense has failed to update regulations on information security in spite of a Presidential directive. -db From a commentary in Secrecy News, February 24th, 2011 by Steven Aftergood. Full Story

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Maine: Anti-gay marriage group must reveal donors

donal brown February 28, 2011

A federal district judge has ordered the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to disclose its contributors in the wake of its $1.09 million campaign to revoke gay-marriage rights in Maine. NOM argued that its free speech rights would be violated by revealing its backers. The judge said that state law required the disclosure and served a “compelling” and “critical” interest in providing the information to the voters. -db From Courthouse News Service, February 25, 2011,

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Federal Judicial Center releases guide on sealed courts

donal brown February 28, 2011

The Federal Judicial Center released a guide for federal judges deciding whether to seal court records and proceedings. The 22-page booklet includes a history of case law on secret proceedings and a list of First and Sixth Amendment issues. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, February 25, 2011, by Lyndsey Wajert. Full Story

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Southwestern College reestablishes free speech rights

donal brown February 28, 2011

Three faculty members at Southwestern College had reprimands removed from their files and their First Amendment rights restored by a new Governing Board. The faculty members were banned from campus, placed on leave and reprimanded for straying from the “Free Speech Patio” during a student protest in 2009. The college is working to revise its protest policy with help from First Amendment groups. -db From the FIRE, February 23, 2011, by Adam Kissel. Full Story

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