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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

High court rejects plea to block 'don't ask, don't tell'

Posted on November 11, 2010
WASHINGTON ? The Supreme Court is refusing to block enforcement of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military while a federal appeals court considers the issue. The Court today denied a request from the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group, to step into the ongoing federal court review of "don't ask, don't tell...

Amazon.com no longer selling guide for pedophiles

Posted on November 10, 2010
NEW YORK ? Amazon is no longer selling a self-published guide for pedophiles that generated outrage on the Internet and threats to boycott the online retailer. It wasn't immediately clear whether Amazon.com Inc. had pulled the item, or whether the author withdrew it...

Report: White House altered drilling-safety report

Posted on November 10, 2010
WASHINGTON — The Interior Department?s inspector general says the White House edited a drilling-safety report in a way that made it falsely appear that scientists and experts supported the administration?s six-month ban on new drilling. The inspector general says the editing changes resulted ?in the implication that the moratorium recommendation had been peer reviewed...

10th Circuit: Small groups needn't file campaign-finance reports

Posted on November 09, 2010
DENVER — A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that requiring small groups who promote ballot initiatives to file campaign-finance reports is so burdensome that it's unconstitutional, dealing the latest blow to open-government advocates. A libertarian legal group, the Institute for Justice, said the 10th U...

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N.H. high court rules ad campaign was protected speech

Posted on November 09, 2010
CONCORD, N.H. ? The New Hampshire Supreme Court has reversed a $6.7 million verdict against a wireless communications provider, saying its advertising campaign against a competitor was protected as political free speech. Fifth Estate Tower secured the jury verdict against Green Mountain Realty Corp...

Minn. court rejects free-speech challenge to aided-suicide case

Posted on November 09, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS — A former Minnesota nurse who prosecutors say sought out depressed people in Internet chat rooms and encouraged two of them to kill themselves won?t get his case dismissed on free-speech grounds, a judge ruled yesterday. William Melchert-Dinkel, 48, of Faribault, is charged with two counts of aiding suicide, for allegedly advising and encouraging an English man and a Canadian woman to take their own lives...

No charges for destroying CIA interrogation videos

Posted on November 09, 2010
WASHINGTON ? A special prosecutor cleared the CIA's former top clandestine officer and others yesterday of any charges for destroying agency videotapes showing waterboarding of terror suspects, but he continued to investigate whether the harsh questioning went beyond legal boundaries...

S.C. high court overturns street preacher's conviction

Posted on November 08, 2010
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's high court has overturned the conviction of a man arrested for preaching against homosexuality on a sidewalk in downtown Greenville. The high court ruled that the portion of the city ordinance prohibiting humiliating, offensive, scary or obscene comments is too vague to be enforced...

Nancy Grace settles lawsuit over woman's death

Posted on November 08, 2010
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ? The parents and estate of a young woman who shot herself after she faced harsh questioning from talk-show host Nancy Grace have dismissed a lawsuit against CNN and the host. According to court records, the settlement calls for Grace to establish a $200,000 trust dedicated to finding Melinda Duckett's missing son, Trenton, who was 2 when he disappeared...

Federal judge blocks Okla. amendment on Islamic law

Posted on November 08, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order yesterday to block a new amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution that would prohibit state courts from considering international or Islamic law when deciding cases. U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange handed down the order after an Oklahoma man filed a lawsuit claiming the amendment stigmatized his religion and would invalidate his will, which he said is partially based on Islamic law, also known as sharia law...

Mich. lawyer accused of harassing gay student fired

Posted on November 08, 2010
LANSING, Mich. ? An assistant state attorney general accused of harassing the gay student assembly president at the University of Michigan was fired yesterday. Andrew Shirvell, 30, went on leave about a month ago after national criticism erupted over a blog he wrote characterizing student leader Chris Armstrong as a "racist" and a "liar" who promoted a "radical homosexual agenda...

N.J. transit worker who burned Quran sues over firing

Posted on November 07, 2010
NEWARK, N.J. ? A former New Jersey train worker fired after publicly burning pages from the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks has filed a federal lawsuit seeking reinstatement and monetary damages. Derek Fenton's dismissal violated his constitutional right to free expression, the American Civil Liberties Union said in the lawsuit filed Nov...

Ariz. judge won't order release of mayor's activity logs

Posted on November 07, 2010
PHOENIX — A judge is refusing to order Phoenix to release police worksheets that recorded two years of Mayor Phil Gordon?s unscheduled activities. A ruling issued Nov. 4 by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Rea concluded that Phoenix was not violating Arizona?s public-records law by withholding security detail worksheets requested by Judicial Watch...

Judge expands gag order in UConn player stabbing case

Posted on November 07, 2010
VERNON, Conn. ? A judge has expanded a gag order he imposed in the case of the fatal stabbing of a University of Connecticut football player. Superior Court Judge Edward Mullarkey said on Nov. 5 that all defendants in the case can't speak about it...

Wash. high court blocks release of mortgage docs

Posted on November 06, 2010
SEATTLE ? The Washington Supreme Court has blocked the attorney general's office from releasing certain financial information related to the investigation of a mortgage company, in a case that involved federal privacy laws and the state Public Records Act...

Pa. newspapers win fight over charges for records requests

Posted on November 05, 2010
HARRISBURG, Pa. ? Government agencies cannot charge people seeking public records for the time agency employees spend complying with requests made under Pennsylvania?s Right to Know Law in certain cases, a state Commonwealth Court panel has ruled. Upholding the state Office of Open Records in a pair of similar cases, the panel on Nov...

Ind. prisons lose federal suit over kosher meals

Posted on November 04, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS ? A federal judge has ruled the Indiana Department of Correction is violating the law by not offering kosher meals to prison inmates whose religious beliefs require it. An Orthodox Jew inmate at Miami Correctional Facility filed a class-action suit last year after the agency began substituting vegan meals for the kosher meals it formerly served, citing higher costs...

ACLU steps into dispute over 'boobies' bracelets in Pa. school

Posted on November 04, 2010
EASTON, Pa. ? The American Civil Liberties Union is asking an eastern Pennsylvania school district to rescind a ban on breast cancer-awareness bracelets featuring the word "boobies," saying the policy violates students' free-speech rights. At least two Easton Area Middle School students received in-school suspensions in late October for wearing bracelets that say, "I (Heart) Boobies...

Federal lawsuit seeks to block Okla. ban on Islamic law

Posted on November 04, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY ? An Oklahoma Muslim filed a federal lawsuit yesterday to block a state constitutional amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters that would prohibit state courts from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases. The measure, which got 70% of the vote in the Nov...

N.C. State students object to racist graffiti in tunnel

Posted on November 04, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. ? A reappearance of racist graffiti directed at President Barack Obama has protesters at North Carolina State University calling for changes to a part of campus dedicated to anything-goes speech. Student protesters blocked access overnight to the Free Expression Tunnel, a major pedestrian thoroughfare that connects two parts of the Raleigh campus divided by railroad tracks...

Ore. man who flipped off cops settles lawsuit for $4K

Posted on November 03, 2010
PORTLAND, Ore. ? An Oregon man has settled a federal lawsuit over a hand gesture he made to sheriff's deputies. The Oregonian reported that Robert Ekas settled the suit for $4,000 after he claimed he had a First Amendment right to express himself by "flipping off" Clackamas County deputies...

Churches key to fugitive-surrender programs

Posted on November 03, 2010
NEWARK, N.J. — Law enforcement authorities say a program that allows fugitives to turn themselves in safely wouldn?t succeed without a crucial element: churches. ?I wouldn?t have gone to any other place, other than a church,? said Stacy Northrop, who credits the program with helping turn her life around after she surrendered at a Camden church...

Senator-elect Paul: Foe's religious attacks backfired

Posted on November 03, 2010
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. ? A day after a winning a hard-fought U.S. Senate race, Republican Rand Paul said he was hopeful a religious attack that backfired on his opponent would head off similar strategies in future political races. Nearly four out of five Kentuckians who voted in the Nov...

N.M. tribe bans newspaper for running story on slaying

Posted on November 02, 2010
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Exercising its rights as a sovereign nation, a small Indian community has banned the local newspaper from its reservation for publishing details about the horrific killing of a member of the tribe. Elsewhere, such a move would have prompted a debate on freedom of speech...

N.C. city council reverses course on Christian flag

Posted on November 02, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ? After having previously voted to remove it, the King City Council has voted to allow a Christian flag to fly at a veterans memorial as part of a limited display. The Winston-Salem Journal reported that on Nov. 1, the King City Council voted 4-0 to develop a policy to fly the flag as part of a display allowing religious flags recognized by the U...

Fla. voters keep public campaign-finance system

Posted on November 02, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. ? An amendment to abandon Florida's public campaign-financing system was rejected by voters yesterday, keeping the provision in the state constitution. Amendment 1 would have repealed a provision that requires public financing of campaigns for governor, chief financial officer, attorney general and agriculture commissioner for candidates who agree to spending limits...

High court hears Ariz. school tax-credit case

Posted on November 02, 2010
WASHINGTON ? The Supreme Court appeared closely divided today about an Arizona tax-break program that provides millions of dollars in scholarships for students at private religious schools. The conservative justices indicated they were likely to rule against a challenge to the Arizona program that says it amounts to an unconstitutional state endorsement of religion...

Fewer campaigns strike wrong chord with musicians

Posted on November 01, 2010
LOS ANGELES ? With candidates trading barbs in one of the most contentious midterm elections in recent history, one group that's remained out of the fray has been headlining musicians. Musician versus politician has been a general feature of most election years...

Divided 9th Circuit extends life of military's 'don't ask' policy

Posted on November 01, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO ? A federal appeals court yesterday indefinitely extended its freeze on a judge's order halting enforcement of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, heightening pressure on the Obama administration to persuade the U...

'Please I.D. Me,' tea party garb not allowed at Minn. polls

Posted on November 01, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS ? Voters in Minnesota who wear "Please I.D. Me" buttons or tea party T-shirts to the polls today can be told to remove or cover up the items while inside polling places, after a judge denied a coalition's request to ban election officials from questioning the apparel...

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