On June 21st, a federal judge dismissed lawsuits filed against then-President Donald Trump and other federal officials who were being sued for violating the rights of protestors last June. After a group of protestors were forcibly removed from Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. on June 1, 2020, the ACLU of D.C., Black Lives Matters, and others filed suit against Trump, then-Attorney William Barr, and other federal officials alleging that they conspired to violate demonstrators right to protest when they cleared the park to allow Trump to pose for a photo op in front of a nearby historic church.
Fifth Circuit Rules A Public School Employee’s Criticism of a Superintendent Isn’t Protected Speech
On June 17th, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employee’s speech who criticized a school superintendent was made pursuant to his official job-duties and, thus, fell within the large ambit of Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006). The decision shows the vast reach of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Garcetti that created a categorical exception for job-duty speech that limited public employee First Amendment retaliation claims.
DOJ Abandons Pre-Publication Review Lawsuit Against John Bolton
The Department of Justice has dropped lawsuit against former National Security Adviser John Bolton over his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.” The agency originally claimed the memoir contained confidential information, and had requested a court order blocking the publisher from distributing copies of the book.
A prisoner rights group had its First Amendment claim against an Arkansas county’s ban on inmate mail other than postcards reinstated by a divided federal appeals court panel. The panel reasoned that the district court needed to make factual findings on whether there were other ways the prisoner rights group could have communicated with the inmates.
Colorado Supreme Court Rejects First Amendment Challenge to Lawyer Disciplinary Rule
A Colorado rule prohibiting lawyers from referring to individuals during a legal process with language exhibiting bias or animus on the basis of sexual orientation does not violate the First Amendment, the state’s high court has ruled. The ruling came in the case of an attorney who was disciplined for calling a judge a “gay, fat, fag.”
First Circuit Defends Hospital Worker’s Speech Rights
During the pandemic, as hospitals struggled to keep up with the surge of COVID patients, managers clamped down on staffers who spoke to the press about their work conditions. Young's case could pave the way for other hospital workers to push back against official policies that prohibit them from speaking to the press.
Attorney General Meets With Media Leaders to Tighten Rules on Leak Investigations
On June 14, Attorney General Merrick Garland met with leaders of The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post to strengthen rules for obtaining journalists' records during leak investigations. The meeting took place after several reports emerged saying that the Department of Justice, under the Trump administration, had secretly subpoenaed journalists’ phone and email logs in an effort to uncover sources in stories that had been leaked to the press.
First Amendment Protects ProPublica’s Publication of IRS Documents
There is no question that ProPublica's story on billionaires' income taxes drew a lot of attention. But could they get in trouble for publishing it?