First Amendment

Justices Debate Voter Confusion Over WA Primary Law

Both sides left the U.S. Supreme Court in an optimistic mood after oral arguments yesterday in a challenge to a Washington state law that curbs the influence of political parties. The law allows candidates in a primary to designate their own political party preference, Legal Times reports. The top two…

Oct 2, 2007 10:35 AM CDT

John Grisham Sued for Libel

The best-selling author of numerous legal thrillers has been sued for libel over his first nonfiction work, The Innocent Man. In an unusual federal libel conspiracy case, John Grisham, along with other authors and publishers, has been sued by a prosecutor and law enforcement officer over three nonfiction books published…

Oct 1, 2007 10:49 PM CDT

Editor in F-Word Controversy Hires Lawyer

The editor of a college newspaper that used the f-word in an editorial headline has retained a lawyer for advice on his First Amendment rights. The editorial protested a police officer’s use of a Taser against a student who wouldn’t stop asking questions at a forum featuring Sen. John Kerry.…

Oct 1, 2007 6:08 PM CDT

Verizon Does About Face on Abortion-Rights Campaign

Updated: Last week Verizon Wireless turned down a request by an abortion-rights group for a text message program, igniting debate over whether mobile companies should be able to censor messages. Today the company reversed itself, the New York Times reports. The original decision was a “mistake,” according to Verizon spokesman…

Sep 27, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Federal Bill Would Ban ‘Murderabilia’ Sales

Prisoners would be barred from using the mail to sell personal items and criminal artifacts under legislation introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House. Five major Web sites sell “murderabilia.” Items up for bid range from a hubcap from Ted Bundy’s 1968 Volkswagen Beetle to a Zodiac killer wanted poster, the…

Sep 27, 2007 1:51 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Suit Over R-Word Ban

Updated: A Nebraska federal judge says he doesn’t like a state judge’s ban on the word “rape” in an upcoming trial, but he’s not going to do anything about it. U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Lincoln, Neb., dismissed a suit challenging the ban yesterday, the Associated Press reports. Plaintiff…

Sep 26, 2007 5:25 PM CDT

Guilty Verdict in Church Leader Trial

Updated: A Utah jury has reached a guilty verdict in the case of a controversial church leader accused of accomplice rape for using his religious influence to pressure a 14-year-old into a marriage she didn’t want. Despite the removal of one juror and the addition of an alternate earlier today,…

Sep 25, 2007 9:47 PM CDT

New Laws Seek to Ban Iraq T-Shirt Sales

“Bush Lied. They Died.” Those words, on a T-shirt, along with the names of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in the Iraq war, have sparked outrage—and legislation in five states. They now ban the use of names of soldiers killed in Iraq for commercial purposes unless surviving family members…

Sep 24, 2007 8:50 PM CDT

Judge Allows Students’ Hitler Youth Buttons

A New Jersey school may not bar fifth-grade students from wearing a Hitler Youth button to protest school uniforms, a federal judge has ruled. Judge Joseph Greenaway of Newark said there was no evidence the buttons will disrupt the educational process and it is likely the kids will prevail on…

Sep 21, 2007 2:21 PM CDT

Roberts Links Judicial Independence, Free Speech

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. told students at Syracuse University yesterday that the First Amendment is only as strong as the judges who uphold it. Roberts read words ensuring free speech protections, then revealed they were from the Soviet Union’s 1977 constitution, the Associated Press reports. “All lies,” he…

Sep 20, 2007 11:08 AM CDT

Lawmaker Sues God

A Nebraska state senator has sued God in an effort to make a point about frivolous lawsuits. The suit by State Sen. Ernie Chambers says God has called “fearsome floods … horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes” and requests a permanent injunction, the Associated Press reports. Chambers says his suit makes the…

Sep 18, 2007 2:14 PM CDT

Yale Profs Lose Military Recruiter Appeal

A federal appeals court has ruled that the federal government may deny funding to Yale Law School for barring military recruiters from campus. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the Solomon Amendment, which bars certain federal funding to schools that reject…

Sep 18, 2007 12:38 PM CDT

ACLU Backs Craig in Restroom Case

The ACLU has filed a supporting brief in Sen. Larry Craig’s effort to revoke his guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge in a restroom sex sting. The conviction violates Craig’s right of free speech under the First Amendment and is unconstitutionally vague, the American Civil Liberties Union says says…

Sep 18, 2007 12:29 AM CDT

2nd Circuit Ponders Frat Life

A federal appeals court wrote about the strange rituals of fraternity life in an opinion (PDF) that allowed a New York college to deny recognition to a frat because it admits only men. The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a preliminary injunction that had required…

Sep 14, 2007 7:05 PM CDT

Church Leader, Polygamy on Trial in UT Rape Case

Opening arguments are expected to begin today in a Utah teen-rape case that is widely seen as putting on trial not only the defendant, Warren Jeffs, but the polygamist practices of the church community he leads. Jeffs, 51, heads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a…

Sep 13, 2007 4:00 PM CDT