Ninth Circuit: First Amendment Protects Beauty Pageant that Barred Oregon Transgender Woman

A federal appellate court ruled in favor of a beauty pageant that barred an Oregon transgender woman from competing, citing the pageant’s First Amendment right to freely express its desired message of “womanhood.”

Local Oregon Newspaper Wins Major Public Records Battle

The Malheur Enterprise, a local newspaper, requested documents last October as part of its ongoing investigation into whether a state legislator was using his official position to help his private business. On February 5th, the county's district attorney ordered the government agency to disclose the unredacted documents.

Ninth Circuit Lifts Injunction Exempting Journalists and Legal Observers from Dispersal Orders

In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit wrote that the lower court’s restraining order was too broad because it failed to specify who qualified as a journalist or legal observer. In previous hearings, the federal government had argued that differentiating between journalists and protesters was especially difficult given that some protesters wear press insignia to avoid the police’s crowd control tactics.

Oregon District Court Bars Federal Agents From Targeting Journalists

The judge extended a preliminary injunction prohibiting federal agents from "arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force" against journalists or legal observers. An attorney working with the ACLU on the case called the court's decision "a crucial victory for civil liberties and freedom of the press." 

ACLU of Oregon Sues Portland Police For Livestreaming Protests

The lawsuit claims that the filming of demonstrators violates a state law that prohibits collecting information about the political, religious, or social views of an individual or group who are not suspected of criminal activity. The practice could also discourage protesters from attending demonstrations to avoid state surveillance.

Oregon Sues Federal Agencies For Violating Portlanders’ First Amendment Right to Protest

“We are today asking the federal court to stop the federal police from secretly stopping and forcibly grabbing Oregonians off our streets,” Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosemblum said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. 

Anti-Abortion Student Group Sues College over Protest and Pamphleting Policies

Represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, students claim their school's policies limit spontaneous expression, and leave them vulnerable to viewpoint discrimination.