First Amendment
Texas District Court Enjoins Netflix Prosecution
Samuel CalkinsJudge Truncale concluded that the film was likely constitutionally protected by the First Amendment and that the claim that the film contains child pornography is flawed.
Fourth Circuit Halts “Election Libel” Prosecution, North Carolina Law Likely Unconstitutional
Benjamin RossiIn a strongly worded opinion, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last week vacated a district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction against a state prosecution of Josh Stein, North Carolina’s Attorney General.
Ohio Court of Appeals: Statements Lampooning Restaurateur for Racist Dress Code Were Nonactionable Satire
Kevin T. ShookThe court found the articles posted on the website to be protected by the First Amendment because a reasonable reader would understand they were satire and did not convey actual facts.
Persistent And Emerging Threats to the Autocrat’s Bugbear: Satire and Political Cartoons
Terry Anderson and Roslyn A. MazerA look into the nature of cartoonists’ criminalization and the varied, sometimes oblique means by which their freedom of expression is attacked.
Professor Eric Goldman on Platform Transparency and the Constitution
Santa Clara University School of Law professor on the First Amendment implications of efforts to compel internet services to disclose various aspects of their decision-making processes and criteria with respect to user-generated speech.
Wyoming Federal Court Applies Rogers Test and “Genuine Artistic Motive” Test
Alan Friedman and Joshua BornsteinThe case highlights the fact that a national standard as to when First Amendment interests take precedence over trademark infringement and unfair competition claims does not yet exist.
Fourth Circuit Hears First Amendment Challenge to North Carolina Election Libel Law
Benjamin RossiAppellants argue that the North Carolina statute violates the First Amendment because it is a content-based restriction that criminalizes core political speech.
Freedom of Speech Looms Large at the Supreme Court
Jeff HermesHas there been a recent term where the Court took on so many big structural questions implicating freedom of speech?
Judge Finds Virginia Obscenity Statute Unconstitutional and Dismisses Attempt to Have Two Books Declared Obscene
Nicole Bergstrom and Molly G. RothschildA judge found Virginia’s obscenity law unconstitutional and dismissed Petitions seeking to have two books, A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maasand Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, found obscene.
In Siding with Praying Coach, SCOTUS Bolsters Religious Freedom of Speech
Camille RichieriIn the recent Kennedy v. Bremerton School District decision, the Supreme Court held that a public high school football coach had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard line after games.