Tracking the modern progress of the First Amendment
Posted in Uncategorized on Mar 9th, 2008
After releasing more than 4,000 pages relating to presidential pardons issued in the final days of Bill Clinton’s presidency (documents obtained this week through a FOIA request entered in 2006…!), Clinton’s legal counsel announced it would withhold an additional 1,500 pages relating to the pardons.
Clinton’s camp claims the exclusions are permitted by the FOIA’s exemption […]
Posted in Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press on Feb 24th, 2008
The editorial staff of an online student newspaper at the University of Colorado at Boulder has been ordered to undergo diversity training after the paper published a column containing anti-Asian remarks.
The column, which was initially defended as a satirical piece, advocated that students “hunt” for Asian students at the school, “hog-tie” them, and force them to participate in demeaning activities until “the Asian spirit has been broken.”
The university chancellor apologized Wednesday on behalf of the Campus Press and columnist Max Karsen, adding that “while his column is unquestionably protected under the First Amendment, the sentiments he has expressed are wounding and damaging to a community we hold dear.”
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Posted in Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Speech in Education on Feb 18th, 2008
Friday afternoon I had the privilege of talking with Gene Policinski, executive director of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. We discussed a range of issues relating to free speech on college campuses - from the power of the student press to the limits imposed by campus speech codes.
Mr. Policinski recently wrote a column […]
Posted in Freedom of the Press on Feb 18th, 2008
Thaddeus Matthews, a blogger from Memphis who runs “the most issue oriented site around,” is facing legal heat this week after refusing to name a police department official accused of leaking information.
Matthews took up the cause of teenager Dexter Cox, who was accused of killing a Memphis police officer Jan. 28, posting updates and supporting […]
Posted in Freedom of the Press on Feb 17th, 2008
Looking for the next LeBron James? If the next up-and-coming high-school sensation happens to play for an Illinois public school, you may never spot him.
Newspapers across the state are coming out against a recent move by the Illinois High School Association to close all public high-school sporting events to press photographers—unless they sign waivers promising […]
Posted in Freedom of the Press, Speech in Education on Feb 16th, 2008
Typically when you hear about a college newspaper being threatened with censorship, budget cuts or a publication freeze, the university administration is the agent pulling the plug. Not so at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where the student governing board ordered the student-run Montclairion newspaper to stop the presses in the midst of threatened […]
Posted in Freedom of Speech on Feb 9th, 2008
Another victory this week for outrageousness in advertising: the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a controversial ad that ran in the Sun-Times last fall did not meet standards for defamation and should be protected under the First Amendment.
The ad, paid for by the Chicago clothing retailer Cosmo’s Designer Direct, appears to contain veiled references […]
Posted in Freedom of the Press on Feb 6th, 2008
The Los Angeles City Council wants people to stay away from Britney Spears. Probably good advice.
But because some people insist, Councilman Dennis Zine called for a city ordinance Thursday to place limits on how close paparazzi can get to people they photograph, because, he says, there is an inherent safety risk associated with the chaotic […]
Posted in Freedom of the Press on Feb 2nd, 2008
The ACLU issued a statement Friday criticizing a federal grand jury’s motion to subpoena a New York Times reporter in an effort to question him about his confidential sources.
The reporter, James Risen, wrote a book that includes a chapter on a CIA operation to dismantle the Iranian nuclear program. The grand jury is seeking information […]
Posted in Freedom of the Press on Jan 27th, 2008
U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) issued challenges this week regarding a White House decision to relocate the operations of a panel responsible for investigating and resolving Freedom of Information Act disputes.
The OPEN Government Act, a revised version of the FOIA signed into law January 4, established the Office of Government Information […]
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