Archive

The Pentagon Papers Case—David Rudenstine on its Meaning a Half Century Later

"The Pentagon Papers case affirms fundamental values and principles. Truth matters— facts matter. The role of the press in the American governing scheme is to serve the 'governed' and not the 'governors.' The protection of a 'cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press' is essential to a vibrant and strong American democracy. That is the profound and enduring meaning of the case," Cardozo Law Professor David Rudenstine writes.

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Supreme Court Will Hear Case About Whether Digital Billboard Ordinance Violates the First Amendment

On June 28th, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in a case about whether Austin, Texas’s digital billboard policy violates the First Amendment. In 2017, Reagan National Advertising sued the city of Austin in state district court over a rule that prohibits billboards from being digitized if they appear anywhere other than a business’s property.

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FAW Public Forum: Media Leak Investigations and the First Amendment

Watch our panel discussion with the Reporters Committee's Gabe Rottman, and two Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalists–Ellen Nakashima from The Washington Post & Charlie Savage from The New York Times–to talk about the history of media leak investigations and their impact on press freedom.

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Justin Fairfax

Virginia Lt. Governor Fails to Convince Fourth Circuit that CBS Defamed Him

In 2019, Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax sued CBS for defamation following their coverage of two sexual assault allegations against him. At the time, Fairfaix was poised to replace Gov. Ralph Northam who was facing intense public pressure to resign for appearing in blackface in his 1994 medical school yearbook.

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Supreme Court Rules that Student’s Off-Campus Speech Is Protected By the First Amendment

In an 8-1 decision on June 23rd, the Supreme Court ruled that a student’s off-campus speech was protected by the First Amendment. The case, Mahanoy Area School District v B.L., involves a message posted on Snapchat by a then-14 year old student identified as “B.L.”, after she learned she failed to advance from the junior varsity to the varsity cheerleading squad. The message, posted on a Saturday afternoon when she was off-campus, stated, in part, “f*** cheer, f***everything.” 

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fourth circuit

Fourth Circuit Revives Court Access Lawsuit in Maryland

The Fourth Circuit just revived a lawsuit challenging a Maryland statute that prohibits individuals from broadcasting courtroom audio transcripts. Says "lawfully obtained recordings cannot constitutionally be punished ‘absent a need to further a state interest of the highest order.'"

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Judge Dismisses Suits Against Trump and Others Over the Clearing of Protestors in Lafayette Park Last Year

On June 21st, a federal judge dismissed lawsuits filed against then-President Donald Trump and other federal officials who were being sued for violating the rights of protestors last June. After a group of protestors were forcibly removed from Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. on June 1, 2020, the ACLU of D.C., Black Lives Matters, and others filed suit against Trump, then-Attorney William Barr, and other federal officials alleging that they conspired to violate demonstrators right to protest when they cleared the park to allow Trump to pose for a photo op in front of a nearby historic church.

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Fifth Circuit Rules A Public School Employee’s Criticism of a Superintendent Isn’t Protected Speech

On June 17th, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employee’s speech who criticized a school superintendent was made pursuant to his official job-duties and, thus, fell within the large ambit of Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006). The decision shows the vast reach of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Garcetti that created a categorical exception for job-duty speech that limited public employee First Amendment retaliation claims.   

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