Gene Policinski Commentary: Sinclair, Next Time Just Put Your Name To The Message
The Newseum Institute’s First Amendment expert, Gene Policinski, originally published this commentary on April 5, 2018, on the Newseum blog, and has given First Amendment Watch permission to reprint. Sinclair […]
What is the State of Academic Freedom As More Professors Face Increasing Backlash?
An NPR report finds that “across the country, in the past year and a half, at least 250 university professors…have been targeted via online campaigns because of their research, their […]
National Constitution Center Hosts U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer and Constitutional Scholars Including FAW’s Stephen Solomon in a Discussion on Hate Speech First, National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey […]
Are Student Walkouts Protected By the First Amendment?
After the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, students around the country quickly began to protest gun violence. One way gaining much attention: student walkouts. School administrators have responded both positively and negatively to these demonstrations. Now various advocacy groups are calling for a national walkout for 17 minutes at 10 a.m. March 14 in solidarity with the victims of the Florida tragedy. Are these protests protected by the First Amendment?
Our guest writer and constitutional law scholar, Catherine Ross, speaks out about the student protests rocking the nation from the March 14 walkouts to the March for our Our Lives movement and looking ahead to the next planned protests on April 20th. Her book, Lessons in Censorship: How Schools and Courts Subvert Students' First Amendment Rights, excerpted on FAW looks at important free speech issues relevant to today's movement.
Did White House Staff Sign Away Their First Amendment Rights?
The Washington Post reports that senior White House staffers in President Trump's administration were asked to sign long-term nondisclosure agreements which would prevent them from revealing confidential information. These agreements extended beyond the normal confidentiality obligations around classified information or attorney-client privilege and included fines if they were broken.
President Trump’s Plans for Libel Laws
President Trump and his team want to ‘open up’ libel laws. The goal: to make it easier to sue media organizations for unfavorable coverage. But there is little that the President can actually do to change the libel laws. There is no federal law on libel. State laws control libel, and all such laws are subject to stringent First Amendment protections for the press and other speakers that the Supreme Court has imposed through cases such as the landmark New York Times v. Sullivan decision in 1964. However, threats to loosen the libel laws is noteworthy as part of a larger effort to criticize the press and attack its credibility.
Judge Rules Defamation Suit Brought By An Ex-Apprentice Against President Trump Is A Go
The State Court of Appeals refused Trump’s appeal to delay a defamation suit until after his presidency because the lower court has yet to issue a final determination on the […]