Category
Prior Restraint

Floyd Abrams Institute Supports Challenge to Maryland Law Prohibiting the Rebroadcast of Court Recordings

Although it is common for courtrooms in the United States to limit the use of cameras and recording equipment during criminal proceedings, the Maryland statute is peculiar in that it applies even to audio recordings produced by the courts and available for public use.

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coronavirus

Newark Warns False Reporting of Coronavirus “Will Be Criminally Prosecuted”

In an attempt to tamp down on misinformation about the coronavirus, Newark’s Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose released a statement on March 11th warning that any false reporting about the virus in Newark could result in criminal prosecution.

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Colorado Looks to Strengthen Protections for Student Journalists and Their Faculty Advisers

A Democratic state representative and former journalism teacher from Colorado, Barbara McLachlan, is pushing for legislation that would provide extra protections for student journalists and the teachers who advise them. 

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Senate Imposes Unusually Strict Rules for Journalists Ahead of Impeachment Trial

A letter sent to Senate leadership on Tuesday said the restrctions "exceeded those put in place during the State of the Union, Inauguration Day, or even during the Clinton impeachment trial 20 years ago."

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Edward Snowden

Snowden Will Hand Over Royalties, Federal Judge Rules

The Department of Justice sued Snowden in September for publishing his memoir without submitting it first for government review. Snowden's lawyers have argued that the government does not apply rules consistently and that much of the information in the book had already been made public.

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Snowden

Snowden Responds to DOJ Lawsuit, Argues Government Selectively Enforces Prepublication Review Rules

“There is a strong likelihood that the government would have subjected Mr. Snowden specifically to such discriminatory treatment,” Snowden’s lawyers wrote. “A whistleblower the government considers to be a traitor would have been seeking permission from the very agencies on which he blew the whistle to speak about his views on surveillance."

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Federal Judge Rules That 3D Gun Blueprints Can’t Be Published Online

Judge Robert Laskin of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle ruled that the State Department violated federal procedural rules when it allowed blueprints for 3 D guns to be published on the Internet.

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Wisconsin Cows

Wisconsin County Board Considers Prosecuting Journalists for Reporting on Water Study, then Backs Off

A county board in southern Wisconsin decided to hold off on a resolution that would have punished journalists and county officials for how they handle information about a recent study that showed high-levels of contamination in the county’s well system. 

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