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protected speech

Internet free speech: Federal judge dismisses stalker case

donal brown December 17, 2011

A federal judge rejected a claim against a man who relentlessly pursued a religious leader on Twitter in a groundbreaking case on free speech and cyberstalking. The judge said while the speech inflicted “substantial emotional distress,” “nucomfortable speech” was protected under the First Amendment. -db From The New York Times, December 15, 2011, by Somini Sengupta. Full story  

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‘Overbroad doctrine’ upheld in Washington state ruling on car horns

donal brown October 31, 2011

The Washington Supreme Court struck down a county noise ordinance forbidding honking car horns for purposes other than public safety. The Court ruled that the ordiance was overbroad in limiting legitimate expression. The decision came in a case in which a woman was arrested for honking her horn in front of a house of a person who protested that she was raising chickens violating homeowner association rules. A justice writing for the majority set out

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Louisiana student sues in federal court after suspended for criticizing teacher on Facebook

donal brown October 25, 2011

A Baton Rouge high school student sued school officials for suspending him and throwing him out of the honors club for criticizing a teacher on Facebook. The student made the comment from his home and removed it before school the next day. The boy’s parents contend that the comment was intended as a joke and created no disturbance at the school so should be protected under the First Amendment. -db From the Courthouse News Service,

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School bus riders sue policeman for arresting them for making faces

donal brown October 24, 2011

Two North Carolina men are suing a town and a member of its police force for arresting them for making faces at him while he drove behind the bus. The men were both minors attending high school when the incident occurred. The lawsuit contends that the students were within their constitutional rights in making non-threatening faces and gestures at the  police officer. -db From the Courthouse News Service, October 24, 2011, by Ryan Abbott. Full

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Charges dropped against North Carolina student thrown off campus for criticizing college

donal brown October 17, 2011

The Catawba Valley Community College dropped charges against a student, allowing him back on campus after they suspended him for two semesters for criticizing the college’s aggressive marketing of a debit card company to its students. But the college has yet to change its policy regarding free speech online and is still requiring the student to notify the college when using computers on campus. -db From a commentary for Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

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