Category
News Gathering
The New York Times Building

Donald Trump Ordered To Pay The New York Times and Its Reporters Nearly $400,000

The decision shows the latest use of the state's newly amended anti-SLAPP statute, a law that bars baseless lawsuits designed to silence critics.

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Donald Trump visits Aberdeen, Scotland

New York Judge Dismisses Trump’s $100M Lawsuit Against the New York Times

A New York judge dismissed Donald Trump’s $100 million lawsuit against his niece, the New York Times and three of its reporters May 3, ruling that the paper’s investigation into the former president’s finances is protected news gathering under the First Amendment.

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Ninth Circuit Affirms Anti-Abortion Activists Illegally Infiltrated Planned Parenthood Activities, First Amendment Protections Don’t Apply

An anti-abortion group of self-proclaimed citizen journalists, Center for Medical Progress, secretly videotaped Planned Parenthood after creating false identities and a fake company to infiltrate restricted areas. The group released the project "Human Capital" in 2015, which includes various documentary-like videos accusing Planned Parenthood clinics in California of selling aborted fetal tissue. The activists argued that its project was protected by the First Amendment, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that no journalist is above the law.

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Attorney General Garland Announces Protections for Journalists, News Gathering

U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced Oct. 26 a revised news media policy that bars the Department of Justice from using subpoenas or other legal processes against journalists to obtain information they’ve retrieved while news gathering.

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Teacher and Citizen Guides: Recording Video and Audio of Police Officers

By 2019, more than 81% of Americans owned a smartphone, as compared to 35% in 2011. This has given rise to “citizen journalists” who record and disseminate videos of police officers performing their duties in public. Does the First Amendment protect them, or can the state prohibit the recording of police activity?

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The Byron White Courthouse in Denver

10th Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Public Right to Record Police

The court referenced First Amendment principles and the previous six U.S. appeals courts' decisions as relevant precedents to decide in favor of a self-identified journalist YouTube blogger, Abade Irizarry.

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A protester photographs a protest with his cellphone in St. Louis, Missouri, following the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd.

Arizona Governor Signs Bill to Restrict Recording Police in Public

Arizona Gov. Douglas Ducey signed into law a bill that would make it illegal to photograph or record a police officer in public from a distance of eight feet without the officer’s permission.

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An interior photo of the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee, Florida.

Florida Supreme Court to Decide If Law Enforcement Officers Are Victims in Marsy’s Law Case

The Florida Supreme Court will decide an issue that has broad consequences for holding law enforcement officers accountable.

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