The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of an Ogden, Utah gang member who sought to overturn an injunction forbidding members of his gang from associating with each other. -db From The Salt Lake Tribune, June 4 2012, by Nate Carlisle. Full story
A former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo fired from his job at the Library of Congress for criticizing the Obama administration in op-ed pieces in major newspapers can pursue his case against the library to get his job back according to a ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. -db From a commentary for the American Civil Liberties Union, June 1, 2012, by Josh Bell. Full story
A federal judge ruled that clicking the “like” button on Facebook was “insufficient speech” to warrant protection under the First Amendment. But First Amendment Center President Ken Paulson does not see how pressing the like button is any different from saying “I like such and such a candidate,” obviously protected speech. -db From a commentary for the First Amendment Center, May 31, 2012, by Ken Paulson. Full story
The Columbia County Jail in Oregon suffered a setback in its quest to limit prison mail to postcards when a federal district judge issued a injunction against enforcing the policy. The judge wrote that the prison failed to show that the postcard-only restriction was essential for safety or rehabilitation purposes. -db From a commentary for the First Amendment Center, May 31, 2012, by David L. Hudson Jr. Full story
Even with the recent Justice Department letter to the Baltimore Police Department asserting the rights of citizens to film police in action, much more needs to be done, writes Josh Stearns for MediaShift. Even after instructed to do otherwise last November, New York police arrested 20 journalists in December and prevented others from doing their job covering protests. -db From a commentary for MediaShift, May 29, 2012, by Josh Stearns. Full story