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First Amendment

May 23, 2019

Police equate accepting leaked documents with ‘criminal conspiracy’ to justify raid on reporter

Amid national outcry, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott is on his heels after raiding a reporter’s home for refusing to disclose the name of a source. On Tuesday, Scott held a news conference to say he suspects that freelance reporter Bryan Carmody was involved in a criminal conspiracy to obtain documents that were leaked […]

May 13, 2019

A reporter declined to reveal his source. Then police showed up at his front door with guns.

Bryan Carmody, a freelance reporter in San Francisco, awoke Friday to the sounds of someone trying to break into his house. About 10 officers from the San Francisco Police Department were bashing the front gate of his Outer-Richmond home with a sledgehammer, he said. It was just after 8 o’clock in the morning. Carmody called […]

Jul 26, 2018

Student’s suspension over border wall shirt costs Oregon school district $25,000, an apology

An Oregon high school student who was suspended over a shirt that touted President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall has agreed to settle his lawsuit after the school agreed to pay $25,000 for his legal fees and have its principal write him an apology. Addison Barnes, who graduated this year from Liberty High School in […]

Aug 15, 2017

Firm battles order for data on protesters

A Los Angeles-based tech company is resisting a federal demand for more than 1.3 million IP addresses to identify visitors to a website set up to coordinate protests on Inauguration Day — a request whose breadth the company says violates the Constitution. “What we have is a sweeping request for every single file we have” […]

Aug 7, 2017

Commentary: The First Amendment does not protect all speech

The woman found guilty in the sensational homicide-by-text case has been sentenced to prison. Twenty-year-old Michelle Carter was found guilty in June by a Massachusetts judge of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 suicide of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. Carter repeatedly encouraged Roy to commit suicide by asphyxiation via text message. Soon after her conviction, […]

Feb 17, 2017

Appeals court strikes down Florida law that barred physicians from asking about gun ownership

In 2011, the Florida state legislature passed a law called the Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act. The act prohibited Florida doctors from asking routine questions about their patients’ gun ownership, unless that information was deemed relevant to patient care or the safety of others. It also barred physicians from making a record of whether a patient […]

Feb 14, 2017

Judge grants injunction against Trump travel ban in Virginia

McLEAN, Va. — A federal judge Monday granted a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from implementing its travel ban in Virginia, adding another judicial ruling to those already in place challenging the ban’s constitutionality. The ruling is significant from a legal standpoint because U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema found that an unconstitutional religious bias [&hel[...]

Mar 16, 2015

Second Circuit – First Amendment: Matthews v. City of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – First Amendment – Retaliation – Public Employee vs. Citizen   Matthews v. City of New York 13-2915-cv Judges Walker, Hall and Murtha   Background: The plaintiff, who is a police officer for the defendant, alleged that the defendant retaliated against him for speaking to his commanding […]

Jan 23, 2015

Second Circuit – First Amendment: Smith v. County of Suffolk

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit First Amendment Retaliatory Conduct – Unprotected Conduct Smith v. County of Suffolk 13-1230-cv Judges Hall, Livingston and Brodie Background: The plaintiff appealed from the dismissal of his cause of action. The district court held that the plaintiff failed to produce facts demonstrating a causal connection between his […]

Nov 18, 2014

U.S. District Court, WDNY – First Amendment: Spring v. County of Monroe, et al.

U.S. District Court, WDNY – First Amendment – Matter of Public Concern – Amended Complaint   Spring v. County of Monroe, et al. 13-cv-6662L Judge Larimer   Background: The plaintiff, a former employee of the defendant hospital, asserts a number of claims arising out of the termination of his employment. The plaintiff alleged that his termination […]

Oct 29, 2014

Second Circuit: Golodner v. Berliner, et al.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – First Amendment – Police Misconduct – Matter of Public Concern   Golodner v. Berliner, et al. 12-1173-cv Judges Straub, Hall and Droney   Background: The defendants appeal from the denial of their motion for summary judgment asserting qualified immunity. The plaintiffs alleged retaliation for commencing a lawsuit […]

Sep 9, 2014

Second Circuit — First Amendment: United States v. Erie County

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit  First Amendment Judicial Documents — Right of Access United States v. Erie County 13-3653 Judges Calabresi, Parker and Lynch Background: The United States commenced an action against the defendant alleging that two of the county’s correctional facilities violated the federal constitutional rights of their inmates. The parties […]

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