Justice Gorsuch Questions the Reduction of Parental Control in Cheerleader Case

A key argument advanced in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. over the frustrated cheerleader kicked off her squad for an off-campus social media post concerns that of parental rights. Brandi Levy vented her frustration at not making the varsity squad with a string of “f-bombs”on Snapchat. She made her now infamous post on a Saturday outside a convenience store with a friend.  

The Supreme Court Case That Could Define the Next Era of Student Speech Rights

On Wednesday, April 28th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a student speech case, Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. We compiled basic information about the facts of the case, the legal questions at issue, and what experts are saying about it.

Breaking with Tradition, Supreme Court To Provide Live Audio of Oral Arguments

“Despite the justices' unwillingness to bring the modern technologies of video into the courtroom, the COVID-19 pandemic reveals how some communication technologies can change the culture of the proceedings and how the court communicates with the public,” Ron Collins said in response to the court's decision.

Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Defamation Suit Brought by Prominent Climate Scientist

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a defamation suit filed by a climate scientist against the National Review and Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank. Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State, sued the magazine and the think tank in 2012 after they accused him of manipulating his climate data. 

Prepublication Review: An “Unconstitutional Censorship” of Former Intelligence Officials?

Five former intelligence officials are suing two U.S. intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense, challenging the constitutionality of the agencies’ “prepublication review” system. The prepublication review system requires current and former intelligence agency employees and military personnel to submit  for government approval anything they write about their past work.

Authors Share Excerpts on Free Speech: Thomas Healy and The Great Dissent

The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind--and Changed the History of Free Speech in America "is a fascinating glimpse into an art that seems lost in law and politics today: the art of changing one's mind. In meticulous detail, Healy tells us how the great jurist, who had staunchly upheld criminal convictions in free speech cases just months before, changed his mind in Abrams." - The Atlantic