To get the Supreme Court’s attention these days, try saying your speech rights are being violated. Whether the underlying topic is abortion, elections, labor unions or wedding cakes, the First Amendment is starting to dominate the Supreme Court’s agenda. The ...

Tagged with: free speech Supreme Court

When Google fired James Damore last week for circulating a bizarre and offensive attack on their diversity practices, free speech advocates rushed to his defense, accusing the company of curtailing his right to free speech. The trouble was that he’d ...

Tagged with: free speech

A golf-centric social media page had a hit on its hands when it started peddling hats mimicking the logo of Titleist, the golf equipment and apparel company. Only their stuff didn’t say Titleist-the merchandise replaced the brand name with a ...

Tagged with: free speech trademark law

It’s one thing for partisans and talking heads to claim that Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric in Kentucky one night in March 2016, specifically his instructions to “get ’em out of here,” incited violence against the protesters he wanted removed. It’s ...

Tagged with: Donald Trump free speech

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court raised doubts Wednesday about a law that bars the government from registering trademarks that are deemed offensive. The justices heard arguments in a dispute involving an Asian-American band called the Slants that was denied a ...

Tagged with: free speech Supreme Court trademark law

WASHINGTON — The Slants aren’t exactly a household name when it comes to music, but the Asian-American rock band has certainly made its mark in the legal world. The Oregon-based group has spent years locked in a First Amendment battle ...

Tagged with: free speech Supreme Court trademark law

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court struggled Monday in a dispute over a proposed Confederate battle flag license plate to balance worries about government censorship and concerns that offensive messages could, at worst, incite violence. Nearly 150 years after the ...

Tagged with: free speech U.S.Supreme Court

WASHINGTON — Messages posted on Facebook and Twitter or sent in emails can be tasteless, vulgar and even disturbing. But just when do they cross the line from free speech to threats that can be punished as a crime? As ...

Tagged with: free speech

New York State Court of Appeals  Free Speech — Picketing Demonstration Matter of Public Concern — Health and Safety Risks Santer v. Bd. of Ed. of East Meadow Union Free Sch. Dist.; Lucia v. Bd. of Ed. of East Meadow ...

Tagged with: free speech New York State Court of Appeals

RICHMOND, Va. — Clicking “Like” on Facebook is constitutionally protected free speech and can be considered the 21st century-equivalent of a campaign yard sign, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond reversed ...

Tagged with: Facebook free speech

NORFOLK, Va. — Attorneys for Facebook and the American Civil Liberties Union want a federal appeals court to rule that clicking “Like” on the social networking site is constitutionally-protected free speech. The case revolves around six employees who were fired ...

Tagged with: ACLU Facebook First Amendment free speech

In the case of Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Michael A. Carrigan, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Nevada state ethics law prohibiting legislators from voting on matters they have an interest in or are affected by.

Tagged with: First Amendment free speech Legislators SCOTUS voting