Topic: First Amendment Rights
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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Rick Santorum: top 5 unorthodox views
Rick Santorum must try to prevent Mitt Romney from securing a majority of delegates before the Republican convention in August, and then have a contested convention. In many cases, his positions mirror Mr. Romney’s, but here are five of Mr. Santorum’s most unorthodox views.
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Tyler Clementi and cyberbullying: how courts ruled in five other cases
The trial for the roommate of former Rutgers University Tyler Clementi will be watched by legal experts nationwide to see how the court addresses the growing issue of cyberbullying. Here is a list of court proceedings where cyberbullying or Internet privacy invasion was a key issue.
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Extradition fight: Who is Julian Assange, why is Sweden seeking him?
A British court is hearing a final appeal from Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblower site, to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sex crime allegations. Here are four questions about the man and the case.
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Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 10/06
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Hank Williams Jr. says his free speech rights violated in Hitler comment
Hank Williams Jr. says he left Monday Night Football for violating his free speech rights. ESPN says Monday Night Football doesn't need Hank Williams Jr. anymore.
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Supreme Court justices find government line in church-state case 'amazing'
The Supreme Court hears arguments in the case of a women who says she was discriminated against when she was fired from a religious school. The school claims First Amendment protections, but government lawyers are suggesting church-state concerns don't apply.
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Ban on judge's Ten Commandments poster stands as Supreme Court declines case
A federal judge and a US appeals court ruled previously that the judge's poster, expressing preference for the moral absolutism of the Ten Commandments, violated previous Supreme Court rulings on the separation of church and state.
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Opinion: Anti-Israel speech should be protected, not banned, on American campuses
An Israel-based legal group has sent a letter to 100 university and college presidents asking them to crack down on anti-Israel abuse. Fair enough, except that anti-Israel speech – anger directed at a government – is protected by the First Amendment.
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'Facebook Law' challenged by Missouri teachers union
The 'Facebook Law' infringes upon the rights of educators, a teachers union in Missouri says.
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Can Facebook get teachers fired?
A Missouri public schoolteacher is seeking to stop a state law limiting teachers’ contact with students on social networks, calling it unconstitutional and a violation of protected free speech rights.
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US judges rule for teacher who called creationism 'superstitious nonsense'
Did hostile classroom remarks about creationism violate the mandate that the government remain neutral on religion? An appeals court says the teacher has immunity from being sued.
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To defuse 'flash' protest, BART cuts riders' cell service. Is that legal?
To forestall a planned protest, Bay Area Rapid Transit turned off cellphone service, angering passengers and raising questions about First Amendment rights in an age of social media protests.
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FLDS leader Warren Jeffs on trial, accused of sexually assaulting two girls
Opening statements are expected Thursday in the trial of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs. Defense lawyers have suggested they may argue that his actions are consistent with his sincerely held religious beliefs.
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Supreme Court strikes down law restricting sale of prescription drug info
In a closely-watched case affecting data mining and physicians' privacy, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Vermont cannot stop prescription drug companies from accessing doctors' prescription histories in order to market newer, more expensive drugs.
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Stop the press! It's no news conference ...
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's first-ever official session with reporters was a reminder just how useful a term 'the press' still is.
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Supreme Court declines to hear 'So help me God' lawsuit
Michael Newdow, whose previous First Amendment challenge sought to strike 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance, tried to block the use of 'So help me God' in the inauguration ceremony.
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Feds' request: Let us take on jail that bans all books except the Bible
The Justice Department, in its appeal to a federal judge in South Carolina asking to intervene in an ACLU lawsuit against a county sheriff, says the policy discriminates against non-Christians.
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Orlando can restrict feeding the homeless, rules 11th Circuit
Feeding the hungry may be an expression of free speech, but cities can still put 'reasonable' restrictions on it, ruled the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in a unanimous decision.
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Tax credits for religious schools? Supreme Court says taxpayers have no say.
The Supreme Court rules 5 to 4 that taxpayers do not have legal standing to challenge an Arizona tax-credit program because the state is not directly funding the parochial schools.
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Supreme Court to decide Arizona’s unique campaign financing law
Arizona seeks to level the political playing field by helping finance some political candidates in a match of funds raised privately by opposing candidates. Does that chill free speech?
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What recourse now to Westboro Baptist Church's rude protests?
With the US Supreme Court ruling in its favor, Westboro Baptist Church plans more controversial protests at funerals and cultural events. Counterspeech and counterprotests are best responses, say activists.
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Muslim group sues FBI over surveillance at California mosques
Council on American-Islamic Relations and ACLU say a paid FBI informant violated the First Amendment rights of worshipers at several California mosques, targeting the most devout. They sued the FBI Wednesday.
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Supreme Court refuses appeal about Ten Commandments displays
The Supreme Court had struck down earlier Ten Commandments displays at the same Kentucky courthouses in 2005. The displays were altered, but a federal judge issued a permanent injunction against them.
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US judge dismisses lawsuit against Bush wiretap program
The suit had asked the courts to declare the Terrorist Surveillance Program illegal and unconstitutional. But a judge said the group challenging the wiretap program lacked legal standing.
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Opinion: Could Congress shut down YouTube with Internet-blacklist bill?
The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) passed a Senate committee last year. If it becomes law, this flawed attempt to curtail online copyright infringement could spell big trouble for Internet freedom.
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Prop 8. gay marriage ban to be argued in federal appeals court
The long-running fight over gay marriage in California heads to a federal appeals court Monday. A panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals must decide whether a federal judge was correct in ruling that the US Constitution protects the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry.
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WikiLeaks: Would First Amendment protect Julian Assange?
The First Amendment shields the publication of truthful information, legally acquired. But what if the information is gotten illegally? If prosecutors go after Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, it could be under the 1917 Espionage Act.
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Supreme Court to examine Arizona campaign-finance reform law
The Supreme Court will look at whether an Arizona campaign-finance law that discourages candidates from spending large amounts of money is constitutional.
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Advocacy groups won't get Supreme Court's ear on campaign finance
US Supreme Court declined Monday to examine whether nonprofit political advocacy groups can enjoy less stringent campaign finance rules that corporations and labor unions now do.
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