Federal Judge Tosses Devin Nunes’ $435 Million Lawsuit Against CNN
The judge wrote that California Representative Devin Nunes failed to state adequate claims and to request a retraction before he filed his lawsuit against CNN.
Dominion Voting Systems Files $1.3 Billion Defamation Suit Against My Pillow CEO
Dominion lawyers are arguing that Mike Lindell used conspiracy theories about election fraud and voter rigging to promote his business.
Sign up to Receive an Excerpt of Yale Law Professor Akhil Amar’s Book “The Words That Made Us”
In his newest book, The Words that Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation 1760-1840, Yale law professor and constitutional historian Akhil Reed Amar tells the story of the first 80 years of public debate in the United States. This excerpt focuses on the origins of America’s newspaper culture and the central role it played in forming our democracy.
Covering Protests: New Challenges for a New Era
Join First Amendment Watch at New York University and the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in a conversation about how reporters, photographers, and editors should weigh their responsibility to report on public matters balanced against ethical concerns such as the privacy and safety of their subjects.
Arizona Lawmakers Move Forward on Anti-Protest Bill
Arizona lawmakers are considering a bill, HB 2309, that would heighten the penalties for a number of charges associated with protests, and create a new charge for behavior deemed “violent or disorderly assembly.”
Are Defamation Lawsuits Being Used to Rein in Disinformation Spread by News Outlets?
Using defamation suits to combat misinformation has some free speech advocates uneasy, as the First Amendment provides broad protections for news organizations.
Local Oregon Newspaper Wins Major Public Records Battle
The Malheur Enterprise, a local newspaper, requested documents last October as part of its ongoing investigation into whether a state legislator was using his official position to help his private business. On February 5th, the county's district attorney ordered the government agency to disclose the unredacted documents.
Fox’s lawyers argue that they had a First Amendment privilege to report newsworthy allegations–even false ones–in a neutral way. They also claim that Smartmatic failed to establish a key requirement of a defamation claim—that Piro, Dobbs, and Bartiromo acted with “actual malice.”