Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Dismisses Censorship Suit Against YouTube
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed a lawsuit filed against YouTube and its parent company, Google, for alleged First Amendment violations. Prager University (PragerU), a nonprofit educational and media organization that espouses right-wing views, sued YouTube in October 2017 after the company either restricted or removed third-party ads on some of its videos.
President Trump’s Re-Election Campaign Sues The New York Times Over an Opinion Piece
Filed in New York's Supreme Court, the suit alleges that the newspaper knowingly published false information about his campaign's ties to Russia. He is represented by lawyer Charles J. Harder, who is known for successfully defending Hulk Hogan against Gawker Media.
Tennessee Lawmakers Copy Missouri’s Library Censorship Bill
Like the one proposed in Missouri, the Tennessee bill would make it so that a librarian could serve jail time for giving a child a book deemed inappropriate by the parental review board.
“While Defendants did, of course, have a constitutional obligation to refrain from restricting Plaintiff’s speech on account of the threat, or possibility, of public hostility to their Alt-Right message, the law is clear that Defendants had no constitutional obligation to prevent that public hostility,” Judge Norman K. Moon wrote.
Parents of Two High School Students Sue Over Right to Wear Gun T-Shirts in Class
The lawsuit argues that the students’ shirts do not advocate for violent or illegal use of firearms, but are meant to express support for “the value to society of personal possession of arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment.”
Syracuse University Walks Back from Punishing Student Protesters
The university’s decision to reverse the suspensions was welcomed by civil rights groups including the New York Civil Liberties Union, who warned that the punishment could chill student speech.
Virginia Repeals Outdated Ban on “Profane Swearing”
The Virginia code dates back to George Washington’s 1776 “Order Against Profanity” which was used to keep soldiers from engaging in “the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing.”
Should Supreme Court Opinions Be Televised?
While most sitting Justices have opposed arguments in favor of televising Supreme Court oral arguments, little has been said about broadcasting the announcement of opinions. In their newest essay, First Amendment experts Floyd Abrams and Ronald Collins explore this possibility and the benefits it could offer the public.