The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s not only led to significant legislative change and social progress, but it also served as a catalyst for the expansion of First Amendment freedoms. This teacher’s guide recounts many of the First Amendment developments ushered in during this new era of commitment to civil rights and equality. These include constitutionalizing libel law, protecting peaceful protesting, acknowledging new forms of symbolic speech, recognizing the freedom of association, and limiting the ways in which licensing laws can be used to censor speech.
MyPillow CEO Sues Dominion Voting Systems for $1.6 Billion
On April 19th, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell filed a suit accusing Dominion Voting Systems of violating his First Amendment rights for filing a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against him. Lindell accuses Dominion of engaging in an “illegal campaign to punish and silence their critics.”
Anti-Riot or Anti-Protest? Florida Governor Signs Contentious New Bill
On April 19th, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law H.B. 1, new legislation that includes a collection of amendments and additions to existing Florida statutes concerning criminal charges for violent protests. The legislation enhances penalties for people who commit crimes during a riot and gives the state the power to approve funding of local budgets, particularly in regards to funding law enforcement.
Civil Liberties Groups Petition Supreme Court to Unseal “Secret” Surveillance Court Rulings
Most court opinions are made publicly available under the First Amendment so that people can understand what the law is and have trust in the judicial process. That is not the case for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) which decides when government agencies can spy on suspected foreign agents, and can sometimes target American citizens as well.
Free Speech Groups Call on USD to End Investigation of Law Professor
A professor at the University of San Diego School of Law is being investigated for a blog post he wrote criticizing the Chinese government. The blog post triggered a formal complaint filed by the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association calling for Smith’s termination.
MLB Umpire Joe West Hits it Out of the Park with $500,000 Defamation Award
Justice John J. Kelley of the New York Supreme Court, a trial-level court, has awarded Major League Baseball umpire Joe West $500,000 in a defamation lawsuit. West sued former MLB catcher Paul Lo Duca for making defamatory statements during a 2019 podcast show.
The treatment of former University of Virginia medical student Kieran Ravi Bhattacharya raises serious concerns about the use of “professionalism” to punish those who hold dissident views or dare to challenge authority. The university suspended and dismissed Bhattacharya after he raised concerns about a presentation from a faculty member about “microaggressions”.
Conservative Think Tank Loses Press Access Lawsuit Against Wisconsin Governor
The MacIver Institute sued Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in 2019 after his office allegedly refused to invite reporters from the think tank’s news arm, MacIver News Service, to press briefings. On April 9th, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit sided with the Governor after finding his office had acted on viewpoint-neutral policies and that MacIver had failed to show evidence that the policy was applied in a discriminatory manner.