Federal Judge Blocks Part of Trump’s Ban on TikTok
According to The Washington Post, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols questioned whether President Trump had given TikTok enough time to respond before issuing his executive order on August 6th. The ruling blocks the portion of the ban that would have prohibited users from downloading the app online.
Louisiana Supreme Court Judge Targets Critics with Defamation Suits
Judge Jeff Hughes has sued the head of a watchdog group and local newspaper for editorials criticizing his handling of a child custody case. The editorials stemmed from an ongoing investigative series into judicial misconduct in Louisiana courts.
Teacher Guide: Hate Speech In America
Although many countries across the globe have laws prohibiting hate speech, the United States protects offensive speech about certain groups that historically have been subject to discrimination. This guide explores the First Amendment issues that arise from attempting to regulate hate speech. The guide also goes into existing limitations on expression, including incitement to imminent lawless action, fighting words, true threats, and harassment.
City Apologizes for Barring Local Charlottesville Resident from Commenting During Public Meeting
On September 18th, the city of Charlottesville, Virginia issued a formal apology after a local resident was blocked from commenting during a City Council meeting on Zoom. On May 18th, Charlottesville resident Tanesha Hudson criticized the way Council members were dealing with City Manager Tarron Richardson, who she alleges they were plotting to fire.
Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Trump’s WeChat and TikTok Ban
On Sunday, September 20th, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump’s executive order that banned WeChat and TikTok from operating in the U.S. Trump signed the executive order on August 6th, citing national security concerns that the Chinese-owned messaging app and the video app were collecting data on Americans.
Panel on How to Safely and Legally Record the Police
Halima Kazem-Stojanovic, an investigative reporter and Justice Studies professor at San Jose State University and the coordinator of the Human Rights Journalism program at SJSU’s Human Rights Institute, hosted a virtual panel on the right to record police in public.
Federal Judges Rules That Pennsylvania Shutdown Orders Violate First Amendment
On September 14th, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that Governor Tom Wolf’s COVID-19-related orders that forced some businesses to close and prohibited large public gatherings are unconstitutional.
Reporter Tackled and Arrested by LA County Sheriff’s Deputies While Covering a Protest
Josie Huang, a reporter with NPR affiliate KPCC, was tackled and arrested while covering a protest on Saturday, September 12th. Huang had been attending a press conference about the shooting of two Sheriff’s deputies in Compton earlier that day.