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Constitutional Law

First Amendment Center

News related to the first amendment of the US Constitution and freedom of speech issues.
By First Amendment Center

Post Frequency: 38.7/day

Last Entry: March 29, 2011 at 21:00:00

Company rebuts fair-use defense in newspaper copyright suit

Posted on December 27, 2010
LAS VEGAS ? A company suing websites on behalf of the owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal says an Oregon nonprofit that helps immigrants isn't exempt from copyright laws. Righthaven LLC said in documents filed last week in U.S. District Court that the Center for Intercultural Organizing was wrong to post a story from the newspaper without authorization, the Las Vegas Sun reported...

FBI releases files on correspondent Daniel Schorr

Posted on December 27, 2010
WASHINGTON ? The Nixon White House was so worried about CBS News reporter Daniel Schorr's reporting that it ordered an investigation into the veteran network correspondent whose tough stories landed him on the president's infamous enemies list, according to newly released FBI files...

Ga. lobbyists will have to report on wining and dining

Posted on December 26, 2010
ATLANTA ? Georgians will be able to keep closer tabs on what lobbyists spend wining and dining state lawmakers. But new ethics legislation set to take effect Jan. 1 doesn't set a limit on what those lobbyists can spend. Reeling from a sex-and-lobbying scandal that toppled Georgia's powerful House speaker, state legislators earlier this year ushered through what they touted as a sweeping ethics-reform package...

Utah school district backs breast-cancer bracelets

Posted on December 25, 2010
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah ? Some teachers may find Corbin Barber's bracelets provocative, but the Granite School District and the American Civil Liberties Union agree he has the right to wear them at Hunter High. It's OK to say "I (heart) boobies...

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Mont. Supreme Court considers access restrictions

Posted on December 24, 2010
HELENA, Mont. ? The Montana Supreme Court is considering restrictions to public access of certain information now available throughout the court system, including a proposal to seal all documents filed in family law cases except for final orders. Freedom of information advocates say the proposals are unnecessary and would run counter to the right-to-know provisions in the state constitution...

Wis. board adopts emergency campaign-finance disclosure rule

Posted on December 23, 2010
MADISON, Wis. ? The board that regulates elections in Wisconsin adopted an emergency rule this week that could weaken the public's ability to know who is behind shadowy campaign attack ads. On Dec. 22, the Government Accountability Board unanimously approved the revised rule over objections from a government watchdog group and the state's largest teachers union, which had argued there was no need to take action now given that the state Supreme Court had yet to act on a challenge to the same rule...

Tenn. ACLU questions inclusion on terror-tracking website

Posted on December 22, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? A spokesman for the state's Homeland Security Office says information about the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee was inaccurately posted on the website of a terrorist watchdog entity. The Tennessee Fusion Center serves as a clearinghouse for information about criminals and potential terrorists...

Whistleblower-protection bill fails to clear Congress

Posted on December 22, 2010
WASHINGTON ? Congress failed to pass a bill before adjourning that would have barred most federal departments from punishing employees who report corruption, waste and mismanagement. The whistleblower protection bill cleared the House last evening, but died in the Senate as time expired on the lame duck session...

Divided 10th Circuit won't reconsider Utah highway-cross case

Posted on December 22, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY — A federal appeals court has rejected a petition for a rehearing in a case involving 14 memorial crosses on Utah highways that an appellate panel said were unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided in August that the 12-foot high crosses represent an endorsement of Christianity...

6th Circuit: Jury to hear Tenn. trooper's discrimination suit

Posted on December 21, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? A federal appeals court has ruled a jury will hear complaints from a Tennessee highway patrolman who claimed discrimination based on his political affiliation. In a Dec 20 ruling, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision and remanded the case for a jury trial...

Democrats scramble to salvage whistleblower-protection bill

Posted on December 21, 2010
WASHINGTON ? House Democrats scrambled yesterday to salvage legislation that would bar federal agencies from punishing employees who report corruption, waste and mismanagement after Republicans linked the bill to the WikiLeaks scandal. In hopes of securing needed GOP support, Democrats offered to strip from the bill provisions that extend whistleblower protections to workers at U...

Federal magistrate: Ill. atheist's lawsuit should be tossed

Posted on December 21, 2010
ST. LOUIS ? A federal magistrate is recommending the court reject an atheist's challenge of a state grant given to help repair an 11-story Christian landmark in southern Illinois, ruling the state's economic-development agency has discretion in how it doles out its money...

Wash. county says church flagpole needs permit

Posted on December 21, 2010
BOTHELL, Wash. ? Snohomish County code-enforcement officers say they have a problem with a 90-foot flagpole at a Bothell church. The county is threatening the Park Ridge Community Church with a $1,500 fine if the church doesn't get a permit. The 90-foot tall wooden pole was erected about 10 years ago as a temporary cell-phone tower...

2nd Circuit upholds ex-sailor's conviction for leaking classified info

Posted on December 20, 2010
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court yesterday upheld the conviction of a former Navy sailor serving a 10-year prison sentence after he leaked details about ship movements to a London-based website that supported attacking Americans. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected defense arguments seeking to overturn the 2008 conviction of Hassan Abu-Jihaad of Phoenix...

Divided FCC adopts new rules on web traffic

Posted on December 20, 2010
WASHINGTON ? A divided Federal Communications Commission has approved new rules meant to prohibit broadband companies from interfering with Internet traffic flowing to their customers. The 3-2 vote today marks a major victory for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who has spent more than a year trying to craft a compromise...

Ind. county under fire for Nativity scene

Posted on December 19, 2010
BROOKVILLE, Ind. ? A county commissioner from eastern Indiana says a Nativity scene that's been erected on the courthouse lawn each year for more than a half-century will remain on display despite a challenge from a group that advocates separation of church and state...

Biden: U.S. trying to stop WikiLeaks disclosures

Posted on December 19, 2010
WASHINGTON ? Vice President Joe Biden says the Justice Department is looking at what the U.S. can do to stop more document releases from WikiLeaks. Biden says he won't comment on that process, but has strong words about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange...

Fla. officials arrest pedophilia how-to book author

Posted on December 19, 2010
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. ? Florida sheriff's deputies have arrested on obscenity charges a Colorado man who wrote a guide for pedophiles. Polk County deputies arrested Phillip Ray Greaves II at his home in Pueblo, Colo., early today on a warrant out of Florida...

Colo. judge orders release of criminal complaint against NFL player

Posted on December 18, 2010
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. ? A judge ordered the release of a criminal complaint in a sexual-assault case against Denver Broncos cornerback Perrish Cox despite arguments by prosecutors that it should remain secret because he's a public figure. The judge ruled an arrest affidavit containing details of the allegations must remain sealed for now because prosecutors said during a court hearing that the case remains under investigation...

Pa. high court may open doors to video cameras

Posted on December 17, 2010
HARRISBURG, Pa. ? Pennsylvania's highest court may soon allow cameras into its courtrooms to record its proceedings. Though details must be hashed out before the Supreme Court votes on whether to lift its long-standing ban on cameras, a decision expected sometime in 2011, Chief Justice Ronald Castille said Dec...

Fort Worth transit bans religious ads on buses

Posted on December 16, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas ? Fort Worth buses will no longer carry religious advertisements because of a furor sparked by an atheist group's ads that proclaim, "Millions of Americans are Good Without God." The Fort Worth Transportation Authority unanimously voted Dec...

Ohio officials toss campaign complaint against Fox News

Posted on December 16, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Ohio elections regulators have thrown out a complaint alleging that the Fox News Network illegally helped Republican Gov.-elect John Kasich raise campaign money. The Democratic Governors Association had charged that Fox News let Kasich ask for donations during an August broadcast of "The O'Reilly Factor" and promoted the address of his campaign website...

N.J. judge blocks town's pre-council meeting prayers

Posted on December 16, 2010
TOMS RIVER, N.J.— A shore town will have to cease its practice of allowing individual borough council members to say a prayer before meetings, a judge ruled today in a decision that likely won't end a dispute that has inspired vigorous debate among residents and advocates...

9th Circuit reinstates Nazi-salute lawsuit

Posted on December 15, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO ? A federal appeals court yesterday ordered a trial judge to reconsider a lawsuit by a Santa Cruz man who was arrested for raising a Nazi salute during a city council meeting. Robert Norse claimed his free-speech rights were violated with the 2002 arrest...

Obama signs bill to squelch volume of loud commercials

Posted on December 15, 2010
WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama has signed legislation to prevent advertisers from abruptly raising the volume of TV commercials louder than regular programming. The new law requires the Federal Communications Commission, within one year, to adopt industry standards coordinating ad-decibel levels to those of the regular program...

Ga. city council denies rezoning request to build mosque

Posted on December 15, 2010
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. ? The Lilburn City Council has denied a rezoning request that would have allowed a Muslim group to build a 20,000-square-foot mosque on a site at U.S. 29. The council met in Lawrenceville and deadlocked 2-2 on the request on Dec. 13...

Woman sues Ga. city over arrest for not removing hijab

Posted on December 14, 2010
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — A Muslim woman who was arrested after she refused to remove her headscarf in a west Georgia courthouse filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against the city of Douglasville and the officers who arrested her, contending they violated her constitutional rights...

Air Force blocks news sites that post WikiLeaks

Posted on December 14, 2010
WASHINGTON ? The Air Force is blocking computer access to The New York Times and other news sites that published sensitive diplomatic documents released by the Internet site WikiLeaks, a spokeswoman said yesterday. Air Force Maj. Toni Tones said more than 25 websites have been blocked and cannot be viewed by any Air Force computer...

Wis. churches use all-night prayer vigils to skirt zoning rules

Posted on December 14, 2010
CUDAHY, Wis. — Some churches in the Milwaukee area are getting around roadblocks to setting up a homeless shelter by offering all-night prayer vigils. St. Mark Lutheran Church in Cudahy is one of the congregations opening its doors at night to the homeless...

Assigned schoolbook calls Jesus 'wine-guzzling vagrant'

Posted on December 13, 2010
BEDFORD, N.H. ? A New Hampshire couple told a school board Monday that their son's civil rights were violated when he was assigned a book that refers to Jesus Christ as a "wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist." The 2001 book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, documents author Barbara Ehrenreich's attempts to live on minimum wage as she critiques the nation's economic system...

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