New Jersey School District To Pay Teacher $325,000 in Student Yearbook Case
A New Jersey school district agreed to pay $325,000 to a teacher as part of a settlement after the teacher sued the district for emotional distress and imposing an unconstitutional gag order on her speech. She claims the school spread a false story that she altered students' photographs to remove Trump slogans from their clothing.
New Mexico Judge Says Official Can’t Block Critical User from Facebook
In a ruling filed on March 11th, a New Mexico district judge dismissed a local official’s attempt to toss a lawsuit filed against him for blocking a constituent on his Facebook page.
Kentucky Senate Passes Bill That Would Make it A Crime to “Taunt” a Police Officer
While there may exist some disagreement as to whether raising penalties for crimes associated with rioting violates the First Amendment, there is at least one provision in the Kentucky bill that is explicitly unconstitutional.
Twitter Sues Texas Attorney General For Violating Company’s First Amendment Rights
The lawsuit claims Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton used his official position to retaliate against the company by issuing a civil investigative demand (CID) seeking documents related to the company’s content moderation policies. Twitter’s lawyers said that Paxton’s actions infringed on the company’s First Amendment right to “make decisions about what content to disseminate through its platform.”
Teacher Guide: Access to Courts and Court Records
Public access to the judicial system is a necessary element in a constitutional democracy. The idea behind “We the People”—the notion that the people are sovereign—assumes that the people govern their institutions. This teachers guide discusses access to courts, including how court access is faring during the COVID-19 crisis; the development of access to criminal trials; the importance of both the First Amendment right of access and the Sixth Amendment right to a public trial; the clash between the First Amendment and the Sixth Amendment concerns over a fair trial; the qualified right of access to civil court proceedings; the dangers of “secret justice”; and cameras in the courts.
Watch: Open Courts & Racial Justice
The world will be watching when the trial over George Floyd's killing opens this month. Listen to a panel discussion on how the First Amendment’s promise of public trials is playing out in an American courtroom amid the pandemic.
Court Tosses Trump Campaign’s Defamation Suit Against the New York Times
The suit against the Times was part of a string of lawsuits the Trump campaign filed in 2020 against media companies. So far, two have been dismissed and one remains ongoing.
Rep. Eric Swalwell Claims Donald Trump and Allies Incited Capitol Riot in New Lawsuit
Much like the case that was laid out during Trump’s second impeachment trial, Swalwell’s lawsuit also asks the judge to consider Trump’s behavior in the months leading up to the Capitol attack. He argues that Trump’s speech on the day of the attack, in which he urged supporters to march to the Capitol, should be interpreted as a last-ditch effort to undo the election results.