Florida Lawmaker Proposes Law that Could Interfere With Right to Record Police

Florida Rep. Alex Rizo (R-Hialeah)  introduced a bill to the Florida legislature that would make it a second-degree misdemeanor for someone to “disrupt, hinder, impede, or interfere" with law enforcement officers while they are performing official duties. While the bill does not explicitly mention the act of cellphone recording, its langauge would give police wide discretion to arrest individuals who they perceive are impeding their activities. 

FAQ: The First Amendment and Campus Life

These frequently asked questions and answers provide the basic information incoming students need to know about how the First Amendment applies to speech on campus. This FAQ is meant to be used as a reference for students, which administrators can link to or copy for their own sites. FIRE and First Amendment Watch are available to help adapt the language to best suit a particular campus’s needs.

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.

Texas Supreme Court Rules That a Defamation Suit Against TMZ Can Proceed

On May 8th, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in a 5-3 decision that a defamation suit brought by a former NFL player against TMZ can move forward. Former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Robert Jones sued TMZ and its parent company, Warner Bros. Entertainment, in Travis County District Court in 2015, one year after TMZ published a story alleging that Jones tried to hire Watson to kill his sports agent.