Reporter Sues City of Belmar, New Jersey for Free Speech and Free Press Violations
A reporter for Asbury Park Press is suing the city of Belmar, New Jersey and several police officers for assaulting and arresting him during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 1st. Filed on July 13th in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the complaint alleges that reporter Gustavo Martínez was “unlawfully tackled, arrested, detained and jailed by law enforcement."
Liberty University Sues The New York Times for Defamation Over COVID-19 Story
A prominent Christian university based in Virginia is suing The New York Times and one of its reporters for an article about the university president’s decision to reopen the college during the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Pro-Trump Cartoonist Files $10.35 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against Anti-Defamation League
Ben Garrison, a cartoonist known for lionizing President Donald Trump in his drawings, is suing the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for defamation after the organization called one of his cartoons anti-Semitic.
New York Supreme Court Lifts Gag Order on Mary Trump’s New Book
Mary Trump is now free to speak publicly about her memoir “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.” The ruling is a blow to the Trump family who sued to stop the book's publication arguing that it violates an old nondisclosure agreement.
Buzzfeed Reporter Wins Appeal to Unseal Judicial Records Authorizing Government Surveillance
"The records at issue here are not nailed into a nondescript crate, stored deep in a sprawling, uncataloged warehouse. Production may be time-consuming, but time-consuming is not the same thing as impossible,” the D.C. appeals court wrote.
Judges Challenge Policy Limiting Their Ability To Speak Publicly about Immigration
Represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute, the judges allege that the new policy amounts to an unconstitutional prior restraint. "There is an ongoing national debate about the wisdom and fairness of recent changes to immigration laws," the complaint says. "Immigration judges have unique insights to contribute to this discussion."
Supreme Court Strikes Down Debt Exception Provision, Upholds General Ban on Robocalls
The case was brought by an association of political consultants who argued that a 2015 exception for calls to collect government debt violated the First Amendment. While the majority of justices agreed with the consultants that the 2015 exception was unconstitutional (6-3), an even greater majority disagreed with their argument for striking down the law in its entirety (7-2).
Appeals Court Lifts Temporary Restraining Order on Trump’s Niece’s Tell-All Book
“Unlike Ms. Trump, [Simon & Schuster] has not agreed to surrender or relinquish any of its First Amendment rights,” wrote Judge Alan Scheinkman, the presiding judge of the state’s Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department.