First Amendment

Legal Ad Police Say Yes to Lions, No to Pit Bulls and Background Noise

Advertising lawyers are running up against unusual state restrictions and tough bar regulators who have challenged ads that contain pit bulls, space aliens, giant-size lawyers and background noise. Tighter restrictions on lawyer ads are the trend, according to the Wall Street Journal. The story reports on some of the more…

Feb 7, 2008 12:28 PM CST

Panel Issues Poetic Ruling for Union in ‘Crappy’ Limerick Dispute

An Illinois appeals court has ruled that a limerick penned by a union official did not constitute defamation in an opinion that opens with its own poetic turn. The panel opinion (PDF) written by Judge John Bowman overturned a $2.35 million verdict for a suburban Chicago-area homebuilder who took issue…

Feb 6, 2008 4:40 PM CST

Judge Cuts $11M Award to $5M in Funeral Picketing Case

A federal judge has upheld the $2.9 million in compensatory damages awarded to the father of a fallen U.S. Marine whose funeral was picketed by a fringe Kansas church. But he has cut a Baltimore federal jury’s award of $8 million in punitive damages to $2.1 million, reducing the total…

Feb 5, 2008 10:44 PM CST

Judge Allows Racketeering Suit Against Protesting Union

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a racketeering lawsuit filed against a union that criticized conditions at a North Carolina slaughterhouse. U.S. District Judge Robert Payne of Richmond, Va., refused last week to dismiss the suit, filed by Smithfield Foods against the United Food and Commercial Workers International, Adam…

Feb 5, 2008 2:29 PM CST

Lawyer Defends ‘Fake Bomb’ as Free Speech

The MIT student charged with walking into an airport wearing a device feared to be a bomb is seeking dismissal of the charges on First Amendment grounds. Star Simpson was charged with possessing a hoax device after going to an airport with a blinking circuit board attached to her shirt.…

Feb 1, 2008 7:25 PM CST

Man Who Firebombed Lawyers’ Cars Tests Public Records Laws

A Seattle prosecutor is taking action to curtail the public records requests of an imprisoned arsonist who’s been busy compiling information on the judges and lawyers who helped put him behind bars. The man, Allan Parmelee, in in jail because he firebombed the cars of two lawyers, one of them…

Feb 1, 2008 7:04 PM CST

Historians Seek Grand Jury Transcripts in Rosenberg Spy Case

The sons of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are supporting a group of historians seeking release of transcripts from the grand jury investigation into the couple’s spying for the Soviet Union. The National Security Archive filed the petition (PDF) for the transcripts in an effort to uncover more information about the…

Feb 1, 2008 3:31 PM CST

Judge Changes Mind, Allows Media to View Defendant’s Taped Statement

A Florida judge changed her mind and allowed members of the media and the public to view a videotaped statement of a suspect accused of killing a homeless man. Fort Lauderdale Judge Cynthia Imperato initially told the media they would not be able to see the DVD, but reversed herself…

Jan 31, 2008 7:14 PM CST

Lerach Wants Sentencing Brief Sealed

Securities class-action lawyer William Lerach hasn’t been shy about his opinions on issues such as sweetheart deals for corporate CEOs and the federal government’s policing of insider trading. He wrote newspaper commentaries on those subjects, but now he wants to keep his legal brief secret regarding his sentence for paying…

Jan 31, 2008 4:15 PM CST

Lawyer: Lynne Stewart’s Material Support Conviction Violated First Amend’t

A lawyer for disbarred lawyer Lynne Stewart claimed in appellate arguments yesterday that his client’s release of a statement by an imprisoned sheik was protected by the First Amendment. Stewart was convicted in 2005 of providing material support to terrorists by passing messages from her imprisoned client, Sheik Omar Abdel…

Jan 30, 2008 2:42 PM CST

Ariz. Drivers Can Get ‘Choose Life’ Plates

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said today that Arizona motorists can have specialty state license plates that contain anti-abortion messages. The unanimous decision (PDF) by the San Francisco-based court reverses rulings by a federal trial judge and Arizona’s License Plate Commission, according to Capitol Media Services. The Arizona…

Jan 28, 2008 8:01 PM CST

Disbarred Lawyer Lynne Stewart Argues Limiting Instructions Overwhelmed Jurors

A federal appeals court will hear arguments tomorrow in the case of disbarred lawyer Lynne Stewart, convicted of giving material support to terrorists for helping an imprisoned sheik pass messages to his followers. Stewart is seeking to overturn her sentence, while prosecutors are arguing her 28-month jail term is too…

Jan 28, 2008 4:07 PM CST

Citizen-Launched Kan. Grand Juries Pursue Abortion & Porn Cases

An almost-forgotten law in Kansas that allows citizens to convene grand juries reportedly has become a tool for local conservatives to use to force prosecutors to pursue abortion and pornography cases. A citizen petition drive, for instance, impaneled a grand jury earlier this month to investigate Dr. George Tiller, who…

Jan 18, 2008 6:29 PM CST

Kucinich Back in Court, This Time Over Texas Ballot Access

Updated: Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich appears to be getting as much attention for his recent legal efforts as he is for his political views. Kucinich is teaming up with country music star Willie Nelson in an effort to bar enforcement of a loyalty oath requirement that is keeping the…

Jan 18, 2008 3:27 PM CST

Shunned Worshippers File Suit, With Mixed Results

As more evangelical churches return to the practice of disciplining errant members, some shunned worshippers are taking the disputes to court. More than two dozen lawsuits related to church discipline have been filed in the past decade, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.), relying on information from the Religion…

Jan 18, 2008 3:03 PM CST