FIRST AMENDMENT

What states in the Southwest have failed to do is curtail growth and agriculture that is, of course, water-driven

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Wednesday criticized comments that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) made on Sunday in which she called for ending the separation of church and state in the United States. Boebert said in a speech at the Cornerstone Christian Center in Basalt, Colo., that she is “tired” of the principle and falsely claimed…

Why not every high-profile case sets an immediate precedent

The law would bar social media companies from removing posts based on a user’s political ideology.

In their frenzy to protect Donald Trump’s “free speech” rights to spread falsehoods on social media, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republicans appear to have misunderstood — or flat-out ignored — the First Amendment.

A push to regulate social media algorithms faces a roadblock, after a court ruled this week that they may be protected speech under the First Amendment.

The 11th Circuit decision sets up a likely Supreme Court showdown over state regulation of social media; the 5th Circuit has allowed a similar in Texas to go into effect.

The decision that would allow officers to be sued if they interfere with bystanders trying to record them.

U.S. government lawyers on Wednesday asked the appeals court overseeing four western and two midwestern states to recognize that the First Amendment guarantee of free speech gives people the right to film police as they do their work in public — a decision that would allow officers to be sued if they interfere with bystanders trying to record them. Six of the nation’s 12 appeals courts have recognized that right but the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has not and justices heard arguments in the case of a YouTube journalist and blogger who claimed that a suburban Denver officer blocked him from recording a 2019 traffic stop. Natasha Babazadeh, an attorney for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, urged a three-judge panel from the court to rule in that filming police is a constitutional right and said there has been an increase in the number of lawsuits filed against police by people saying they could not record them in public.

The filing escalates a battle between Paxton and industry groups representing some of the country’s most powerful social media firms, which have turned to the Supreme Court after a surprise ruling at the 5th Circuit court last week allowed the law to take effect.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff, a third-grade student at the time of the incident identified in the lawsuit as “C.S.,” wore a baseball-style hat to a school “Hat Day” event on Feb. 17. The lawsuit also states that the student chose to wear that hat. When the student wore the hat to school on hat day, Papanek called her father and asked if he would bring her a different hat to wear. Leffel also called the student’s father, according to the lawsuit, and left a voicemail stating that the student could not wear the hat at school. The student’s father emailed Leffel, who confirmed that the student was not permitted to wear the hat.

Using rappers like Young Thug and Gunna's own rhymes as purported evidence of crime is an increasingly common prosecutorial tactic that experts say is aimed at young men of color.

From flag-waving to flag-burning, hoisting a banner is a form of speech — as the Supreme Court unanimously recognized.

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia speaks outside the U.S. Capitol on April 28, 2022. Win McNamee/Getty ImagesLawyers representing voters in Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina have filed lawsuits alleging that their elected congressional representatives are barred from running for future office based on a little-known provision of the 14th Amendment. Specifically, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment reads: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress … who, having prev

President Biden on Monday will present awards to federal employees and host a reception to mark the end of Ramadan ahead of a planned visit to Alabama on Tuesday to tour a Lockheed Martin facility that manufactures Javelin anti-tank missiles being sent to Ukraine.

A long history of free-speech jurisprudence backs him up.

Teachers are state employees, but they are not the state’s robots.

The Los Angeles County sheriff disputed allegations he orchestrated the cover-up of an incident where a deputy knelt on a handcuffed inmate’s head for more than three minutes.

As rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was bombarded with text messages from Republicans urging President Trump to intervene. The messages also reveal that some House Republicans were discussing martial law. Robert Costa has the latest.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges Llano County officials violated citizens’ First Amendment rights.

Universities have to be extremely careful about how they interact with student causes if they want to avoid being held liable for protesters’ words and actions.

CBS8 San DiegoA California judge didn’t buy a San Diego man’s argument that his violent online tirades against people of color are protected under the First Amendment.And now, Timothy Caruthers won’t be eligible to purchase or own a handgun for at least two years, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Richard Whitney ruled last week.“The Court concludes the purchase of a semi-automatic handgun, combined with the evidence of very egregious racial threats, advocacy of violence towards minority gro

A judge gave a green light to a lawsuit alleging Chicago Ald. Jim Gardiner had a man harassed and ultimately falsely arrested after picking up a cellphone that a ward superintendent left at a 7-Eleven.

It’s hardly clear that more aggressive content moderation would save lives.

At issue is the same Colorado anti-discrimination law that came before the court in 2018, when the justices ruled for a baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple.

The free press repelled two attacks Monday, but far more severe damage has already been felt elsewhere.

A Michigan university has defended its decision to suspend a professor over a profanity-filled video, saying the unusual welcome message for his history students isn’t protected by the First Amendment.

A Michigan university has defended its decision to suspend a professor over a profanity-filled video, saying the unusual welcome message for his history students isn't protected by the First Amendment.

The minority leader has consistently defended democracy. If only the rest of his party were so principled.

Kruger is on the shortlist to replace retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer Jr., and conservative groups are promoting her role in the case Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as evidence that she would not protect religious rights as a member of the Supreme Court.

A bill on free speech at Indiana colleges and universities moved forward Monday in the Indiana House Education Committee with a unanimous vote of approval.

OTTAWA COUNTY, MI – Allendale Township denied it violated First Amendment rights of those who asked to put bricks, inscribed with racial-justice messages, near a controversial Civil War statute that features a Confederate soldier. Civil rights advocates bought the bricks – to be engraved with messages such as “Black Lives Matter, Take It Down!” – for installation at the township’s “Garden of Honor.”

Sandy Gholston, Ferris State University spokesperson, declined to provide MLive with the reason for Mehler’s suspension. During the 14-minute video, Mehler explained his plagiarism policies, attendance policies, and grading procedures for the spring semester, which officially began Jan. 10. The video gained national attention because of the profane language Mehler used during certain points of the video. “When you watch the entire video, it becomes clear that this was a performance,” Terr told MLive. The 75-year-old professor told MLive he is fearful of teaching in-person because of his age.

A two-year investigation into who authorized Chicago police to secretly conduct background checks on people who signed up to speak at public meetings and why it was done has ended without an answer.

Americans have trouble admitting that misinformation, like other objectionable speech, is usually constitutional.

ALLENDALE, MI – Four people are suing Allendale Township for alleged violations of the First Amendment, claiming township officials censored their free speech promoting racial justice in the ongoing battle over a controversial Civil War statue featuring a Confederate soldier. According to the lawsuit filed Monday, Dec. 6, the four individuals described as civil rights advocates had purchased bricks to be installed in the township’s Garden of Honor where the statue sits with the intention of having them engraved with messages such as “Black Lives Matter.”

Americans’ reflexive distaste for the practice stems from their almost mystical faith in the ballot box.

CHELSEA, MI - Chelsea officials are moving to establish a policing task force of residents, business owners and youth to work with the small city’s police department after an outside audit that took issue with local law enforcement policies governing use of force, police pursuits, First Amendment assemblies and more. Chelsea’s City Council has spent two working sessions totaling some three and a half hours discussing the wide-ranging review it requested from Florida-based Bobcat Training and Consulting, Inc., whose experts put 21 “high-risk” policies with liability implications under the microscope, met with officials and residents and rode along with officers.

Mark T. Esper said in a lawsuit that Biden administration officials are preventing him from sharing a “full and unvarnished” accounting of his service under President Donald Trump.

KALAMAZOO, MI — The Kalamazoo City Commission voted to approved a $32,000 settlement with a former resident who alleged City Manager Jim Ritsema violated his First Amendment rights. The settlement is included in the Nov. 15 Kalamazoo City Commission agenda packet. Robinson said he did not have anything to add beyond what was written in the city agenda packet. Deputy City Manager Jeff Chamberlain said city officials have no further comment on the matter beyond the information provided by City Attorney Clyde Robinson in the agenda packet. Ritsema sent a statement to MLive that was drafted for him by public relations professional Mark Fisk, the draft complaint alleges.

Lawyers for all three defendants in the case sought a mistrial after the judge briefly removed the jury when Arbery’s mother began to weep in the gallery.

Firearms are having a documented chilling effect on free speech.

Nine people injured at the 2017 far-right 'Unite the Right' rally in Virginia are suing organisers.

FLINT, MI -- Flint City Council President Kate Fields called the council’s censure vote to silence her for 30 days an illegal motion and a violation of her First Amendment rights. The council president held a news conference Wednesday evening outside Flint City Hall during the city council’s ongoing committee meetings. The council president said she will seek legal action against the board’s motion. “They have no right to do that.”She said there was a precedent to not allow an appeal when the chair removes a city council member under the disorderly persons ordinance. She told MLive-The Flint Journal that she has no regrets for ruling Mays was disrupting the council meeting.

In the United States, people have a constitutional right to be wrong, to publicly make fools of themselves. It's called the First Amendment. But just because

Anti-Israel protests outside a Jewish synagogue in Michigan are protected by the Constitution's First Amendment.

When people say they are motivated by conscience, even implausibly, employers and government have no morally defensible choice but to take their word for it.

Court this fall will consider Texas’s denial of request that preacher lay hands on inmate, and audibly pray for him.

The freedoms of religion, speech, press and protest are right at the top of the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. Listen: Legal scholars discuss the role of the First Amendment in advancing and hindering equality in America. GuestsLeonard M. Niehoff is a professor from practice at the University of Michigan Law School and a nationally recognized expert and scholar on First Amendment law. “When we look at protest, the picture becomes complicated because protests involve not just speech, but they involve conduct,” Niehoff points out. But it’s also true that the First Amendment has been used as a weapon against equality.

Lawyers for Claudio Rojas say he was deported by ICE in retaliation for his activism, which the agency denies. His case could have big implications for immigrants' freedom of speech.

Liberty, privacy, freedom of expression — our highest values — were involved in Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta and were enhanced and strengthened.

Federal lawsuit filed by former Illinois Governor and ex-con Rod Blagojevich dismissed by one expert as 'frivolous'

The Michigan Court of Appeals says a priest who criticized a teenager’s suicide during his funeral is protected by the religion clauses of the First Amendment.

Four experts argue insurrection ‘may be the most spectacular example of incitement’ in modern US history

Fox News has filed a motion to dismiss a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over claims about the 2020 presidential election.

The faade will be reinstalled at The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The tablet is engraved with the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and the right to petition the government. It's a gift from the Freedom Forum, the creator of the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the First Amendment. Ad“It’s so meaningful to bring the text of the First Amendment to Philadelphia,” National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen said in a statement. He said it would “inspire visitors for generations to come.”A dedication ceremony is planned for later this year.

LANSING, Mich. – Nonpublic schools sued Monday after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration extended a coronavirus order that prevents in-person instruction at Michigan high schools, saying it violates the First Amendment right to practice religion. The federal lawsuit, filed in Michigan's Western District, was brought by a group representing more than 400 nonpublic schools across the state, as well as three Catholic high schools and 11 parents. It took effect Nov. 18 and also applies to public high schools and all colleges and universities. The plaintiffs include Lansing Catholic High School, Father Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor and Everest Collegiate Academy in Clarkston.

NEW YORK – A federal judge on Sunday postponed a Trump administration order that would have banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from U.S. smartphone app stores around midnight. The ruling followed an emergency hearing Sunday morning in which lawyers for TikTok argued that the administration's app-store ban would infringe on First Amendment rights and do irreparable harm to the business. In arguments to Judge Nichols, TikTok lawyer John Hall said that TikTok is more than an app, since it functions as a “modern day version of a town square." In addition, Hall argued that a ban would prevent existing users from automatically receiving security updates, eroding national security. Trump set the process in motion with executive orders in August that declared TikTok and another Chinese app, WeChat, threats to national security.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is running as the “law and order” candidate. But they have largely not tried to block the gatherings of thousands of people, which Trump and his team deem “peaceful protests” protected by the First Amendment. An indoor rally that Trump held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June was blamed for a surge of virus infections there. Trump held an indoor rally at the Xtreme Manufacturing facility in Henderson, Nevada, on Sunday night. The state restricts gatherings to 50 people — based on White House reopening guidelines —- but thousands of supporters packed into the warehouse space nonetheless.

NEW YORK A tech-focused civil liberties group on Tuesday sued to block President Donald Trump's executive order that seeks to regulate social media, saying it violates the First Amendment and chills speech. Trump's order, signed last week, could allow more lawsuits against internet companies like Twitter and Facebook for what their users post, tweet and stream. Trump, without evidence, has long accused tech companies of being biased against conservatives. There was pushback against Trump's order from various sources. Civil rights and libertarian organizations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also criticized Trump's order.