Afternoon Briefs: Law dean Chemerinsky opposes Trump Twitter ban; safe injection site shot down
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Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky opposes Trump Twitter ban
Twitter and Facebook had the right to remove posts by President Donald Trump that amounted to incitement, but a total ban on Trump’s social media accounts goes too far, according to an op-ed by Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and a frequent ABA Journal contributor. “I loathe much of what Trump says, but I do not believe he should be silenced,” Chemerinsky wrote for Bloomberg Law. He added that there is no First Amendment issue because the Constitution applies to government, not private actors. But he is troubled by the power that social media companies exercise over speech. (Bloomberg Law)
Safe injection site violates drug law, appeals court says
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Philadelphia ruled Tuesday that a nonprofit’s plan to open a safe injection site for drug users in Philadelphia would violate a federal law aimed at crackhouses. The nonprofit planned to provide clean syringes and to check drugs for contaminants. But federal law bars providing the means or location to use illegal drugs, the appeals court said. (The Associated Press, PennLive.com, the 3rd Circuit decision via How Appealing)
Suit says whistleblower rule gives SEC too much payout power
A Labaton Sucharow partner who leads its whistleblower practice has filed a lawsuit contending that a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule allows the agency to revise whistleblower awards “with no limits whatsoever.” Partner Jordan Thomas said the SEC adopted the rule with no “reasoned explanation.” The suit said the rule will lead to lower awards for whistleblower clients and lower contingency fees for the firm. (Law.com, Law360, Thomson Reuters Legal)
