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First Amendment

Bridgeton High School Student Sues School After Being Barred From Abortion Protest

AP | GEOFF MULVIHILL | Posted 11.17.2009 | New York

Read More: Mount Laurel, First Amendment, Bridgeton High School, Abortion Protest, Pro Life Day of Silent Solidarity, Religious Freedom, Stand True, Anti-Abortion, Alliance Defense Fund, Pro Life, New York News

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — A New Jersey high school student claims in a federal lawsuit that school administrators violated her First Amendment free-s...

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Jerry Brown Aide Showed Bad Judgment, But Didn't Break Law in Secretly Taping Reporter

Peter Scheer | Posted 11.04.2009 | Media

Read More: Recording Journalist, Governor California, Jerry Brown, First Amendment, Ethics in Journalism, Media News
Peter Scheer

Attorney General Jerry Brown's spokesman was unceremoniously "disappeared" from Brown's incipient campaign this week because of a lapse in judgment that, quite frankly, has been grossly overblown.

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Conservatives for Privacy, Where is the Left?

J. Bradley Jansen | Posted 11.03.2009 | Politics

Read More: Bradley Jansen, Liberty and Privacy Network, First Amendment, Paul Weyrich, Ronald Reagan, Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights, Guidelines, Fbi, Obama, Free Congress, Fourth Amendment, Privacy, Politics News
J. Bradley Jansen

The best way to keep us safe and free is eternal vigilance--no matter which party is in office. So, let's hold our friends on the left accountable when it's needed.

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Guantanamo Bay: College Division

Stu Kreisman | Posted 10.26.2009 | Media

Read More: Butler University, Internet, First Amendment, College, Bloggers, Bushies, Guantanamo, Guantanamo Bay, Jess Zimmerman, Virginia Tech Massacre, Virginia Tech, Censorship, Lawsuit, Dick Cheney, Media News
Stu Kreisman

Is a school entitled to discipline a student? Of course -- if a crime is committed. But let's get real here. We're talking about freedom of speech on the Internet.

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John McCain, Computer Geek

Auburn McCanta | Posted 10.26.2009 | Politics

Read More: Internet, First Amendment, Net Neutrality, John McCain, Senator John McCain, Internet Freedom Act, Freedom, Politics News
Auburn McCanta

During the 2008 election, Senator John McCain famously admitted he didn't know how to use a computer and was only then learning to use a Blackberry. Oh, how times have changed.

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Anonymous Push Polls: Coming Soon to a Phone Near You?

Luis Toro | Posted 10.22.2009 | Denver

Read More: Law, Colorado, Federal Court, Longmont, Campaign Finance, Push Polls, Denver, Longmont Election Committee, Western Tradition Partnership, Free Speech, First Amendment, Public Opinion Polling, Denver News
Luis Toro

What kinds of polls are actually campaign advertisements? A Colorado court is set to rule on the answer.

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As Congress Prepares to Reauthorize the Patriot Act, Reader Privacy Must be Protected

Judy Platt | Posted 10.19.2009 | Books

Read More: Censorship, Libraries, Patriot Act, First Amendment, Bookstores, Government Censorship, Books, Ala, Fbi, Books News
Judy Platt

Readers need to make it clear to their members of Congress and Senators that the privacy of what they read is non-negotiable and that they're entitled to that privacy whether the books they read are borrowed or bought.

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Student Blogger Shut Down and Sued by Butler University Over Free Speech

Stu Kreisman | Posted 10.19.2009 | Media

Read More: College Students, Butler University, Alexander Hamilton, First Amendment, Crime, Bloggers, Jess Zimmerman, Virginia Tech, Barack Obama, Lawsuit, Freedom of Speech, University, Internet, College, Virginia Tech Massacre, Censorship, Benjamin Franklin, Media News
Stu Kreisman

Jess Zimmerman is a junior at Butler University. Last year he wrote criticisms of Butler's administration in an anonymous blog. We now have the first case of a university suing a student over online free speech.

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What Do Dog-Fights and Gloria Allred Have In Common?

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 10.10.2009 | Media

Read More: Dog-Fights, First Amendment, Lawyer Advertising, Gloria Allred, Free Speech, Sexual Harassment, David Letterman, Media News
Judge H. Lee Sarokin

When lawyers speculate about wrongdoing, as in the Letterman case, and advance claims without factual basis, I wince for all of us who view the practice of law as an honorable and worthy profession.

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Blind Faith: Supreme Court Meltdown

Jeff Schweitzer | Posted 10.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Mojave Desert, Scalia, First Amendment, Cross, Establishment Clause, Scalia Cross Remarks, Scalia Cross, Religion in America, Antonin Scalia, Politics News
Jeff Schweitzer

If a Christian would not select a Star of David then why on earth would a Jew choose a cross? Yet that is exactly what Scalia proposes. The notion that the cross represents everybody is bizarre.

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Interview With Pro-Bono Civil Rights Defense Attorney Paul Hetznecker

Rob Kall | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Freedom of Speech, Arrests, First Amendment, Freedom of the Press, Civil Disobedience, Police Abuse, Inside DC, Politics News
Rob Kall

On Monday, October 5, over 60 peace activist, anti Afghan war protesters were arrested in front of the White House. It seems like a good time to publish this interview I did on my Rob Kall Bottom Up Radio Show a few weeks ago with Paul Hetznecker, who defends protesters as part of his life work.

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Supreme Court Hears First Amendment Case In Selling Of Dogfight Videos

The New York Times | ADAM LIPTAK | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Supreme Court, Animal Cruelty, Arguments, First Amendment, Dogfighting, Cockfighting, Free Speech, Crush Videos, Bullfighting, Pate, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wanted to know if Congress could ban a "Human Sacrifice Channel" on cable television. Justice Ruth Bader G...

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Free Speech Threatened Again (POLL)

The Huffington Post | Jessie Kunhardt | Posted 10.06.2009 | Books

Read More: Poll, Supreme Court, First Amendment, US v Stevens, Free Speech, Books News

Publishers, librarians, booksellers, and authors have banded together this summer in rejection of a government claim that there can be exceptions to t...

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First Amendment Under Siege

The Huffington Post | Judy Platt | Posted 10.06.2009 | Books

Read More: US v Stevens, Animal Cruelty, Pit Bull Fights, Pit Bulls, Crush Videos, Supreme Court, First Amendment, President Clinton, Books News

I'm in hot water again at home. You try explaining to a family that loves all creatures great and small that you're defending the rights of a man sen...

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Free Speech and Funeral Picketing:

Eugene Volokh | Posted 11.24.2009 | Politics

Read More: Cartoons, First Amendment, Synder v. Phelps, Fourth Circuit Court, Maryland, Liability, Phelpsians, Politics News
Eugene Volokh

The Fourth Circuit has just reversed the $5 million intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy verdict against the group who picketed the funeral of a slain soldier.

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Does Humana Have a Free Speech Right To Mislead The Elderly?

Dawn Teo | Posted 11.23.2009 | Politics

Read More: George Lemieux, First Amendment Law, First Amendment, Mitch McConnell, Chip Pitts, Commercial Speech, Health Care Reform, Aarp, Cms, Medicare Advantage, Humana, Humana Letter, Healthcare, Humana in the News, Politics News
Dawn Teo

Medicare officials have admonished one provider for using customer lists to engage in political advocacy and lobbying -- a policy shift that could establish new legal principles in First Amendment law.

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Media Mud Pies: CNN's Embarrassing Response to Fox

Linda Milazzo | Posted 11.21.2009 | Media

Read More: War on Afghanistan, First Amendment, President Obama, Teabaggers, Chicago, Progressives, Phil Donahue, 9/11, Peace, America, Journalism, Msnbc, Infrastructure, Social Media, Corporate Media, Washington Post, State Senator Obama, Rick Sanchez, Fox, War on Iraq, Jessie Jackson, Washington DC, Netherlands, Barack Obama, Fourth Estate, Afghanistan War, Anti-War, Fox News, Cnn, 9/12, Saddam Hussein, Military Industrial Complex, Tv, Protests, Iraq War, Conservative Right, Glenn Beck, Conservatives, Spain, Media News
Linda Milazzo

In response to Fox's childish and embarrassing ad in the Washington Post that challenged competitors' coverage of the 9/12 teabaggers, CNN is airing this equally chilidish and embarrassing ad.

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Am I Free to Speak?

Stephen Herrington | Posted 11.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: Government, Freedom of Speech, Supreme Court, Russ Feingold, First Amendment, John McCain, Corporations, Freedomworks, Hillary Clinton, Constitution, Town Hall Meetings, Politics News
Stephen Herrington

We have, for some decades now, been in an era that the framers did not anticipate, in which the reach and influence of money could shape the political landscape like never before.

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The Court's Cross to Bear

Jay Wexler | Posted 11.16.2009 | Politics

Read More: First Amendment, Salazar v. Buono, Seperation of Church and State, First Amendment Rights, Separation of Church and State, Church and State, Politics News
Jay Wexler

The government should surely honor our fallen war heroes, but erecting a massive, stand-alone symbol of Christian faith is not the way to do it.

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Imprisoned Democrat Paul Minor's Appeal Has Major 1st Amendment Implications

Brendan DeMelle | Posted 11.14.2009 | Politics

Read More: Karl Rove, First Amendment, Mississippi, Paul Minor, Fifth Circuit, Campaign Contributions, U.S. Supreme Court, Bush Justice Department, Politics News
Brendan DeMelle

Without quid pro quo proof of a deal between donor and recipient, anyone, could be accused of "bribery" just for giving money to a candidate running for office, as Paul Minor was.

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As Supreme Court Hears Landmark Campaign Finance Case, Public Funding Solution is Missing

Bob Kerrey | Posted 11.11.2009 | Politics

Read More: Supreme Court, Public Funding, Campaign Finance Reform, Congress, Political Science, Federal Election Commission, Free Speech, Fec, First Amendment, US Senate, Fair Elections Now Act, Hillary Clinton, Politics News
Bob Kerrey

When campaign finance legislation levels up rather than limits down political speech, the result is more candidates from diverse backgrounds competing for support. Call it the ''more speech'' solution.

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Sound and Fury: The Health Care Town Halls

Bill George | Posted 09.26.2009 | Politics

Read More: Health Care Reform, Health Care Town Halls, First Amendment, Congress, Politics News
Bill George

Debate is only possible when other side will pause and listen. An argument without a counter-argument is just a lot of yelling.

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"The Free Speech Exception"

Earl Pomerantz | Posted 09.25.2009 | Politics

Read More: First Amendment, Free Speech, Politics News
Earl Pomerantz

Yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater, and no First Amendment protection for you, Mister. You're going straight to jail.

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Firing Squads and Death Panels

B. Jeffrey Madoff | Posted 09.24.2009 | Media

Read More: Big Pharma, First Amendment, Birther-Movement, Death Panels, Civil Rights, Health Insurance, Barack Obama, Canada, Chris Matthews, Second Amendment, Pharmaceutical Industry, World Health Organization, Great Britain, Health Care Reform, Socialism, Town Hall Meetings, Health Care, Media News
B. Jeffrey Madoff

My grandmother was one of the first people a pacemaker was used on. A lot of very sincere people believe that if Obama's health care reform bill passes, old people will essentially be facing death panels and denied care.

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It's Time to Stop Carrying Guns to Town-Hall Meetings

John W. Whitehead | Posted 09.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: Second Amendment, Health Care Protests, Free Speech, First Amendment, Town Hall Meetings, Gabrielle Giffords Town Hall Gun, Politics News
John W. Whitehead

Here's the bottom line: there are only two reasons for carrying a gun in America -- to protect yourself or go hunting. There is no valid reason for carrying a gun to these town hall meetings.

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