Author: David L. Hudson Jr.
2018 State of First Amendment Survey Reveals People Believe in Media as Watchdog
The most encouraging part of the 2018 State of the First Amendment survey is the public’s embrace of the ideal of the media serving as the watchdog of a free
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Kentucky Inmate Loses Access to Courts Claim Based on Lack of Law Library and Legal Materials
A Kentucky inmate who alleged that a detention center’s lack of a law library and his inability to conduct independent legal research hindered his access to the courts lost his
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Court Majority Wisely Rejects Expansive Application of Professional Speech Doctrine
A positive development emerged from the Supreme Court’s invalidation of two compelled notices in a California law that required pro-life pregnancy centers to provide notices about the availability of abortion
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Golden Nuggets for Free-Expression Advocates in an Unusual Case
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida (17-21) has some golden nuggets for free-expression advocates even though at first glance the opinion might seem
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Supreme Court Reached the Right Result – But the Opinion Could Have Been Stronger
The U.S. Supreme Court reached the correct result in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky (2018), striking down a supremely overbroad law that prohibited individuals from wearing political badges, political buttons,
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Georgia Supreme Court Declines to Review Free-Speech Case of Public School Teacher, But Justice Warns of First Amendment Overreach
The Georgia Supreme Court declined to review the free-speech case of Kelly Tucker, a public school teacher in Tift County who was suspended for five days for a Facebook post
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Two Federal Appeals Courts Uphold National Motto on Money from Constitutional and Statutory Challenges
The inclusion of the national motto “In God We Trust” does not violate the First Amendment.
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Book on Sit-Ins Is a Most Compelling Read
A brilliant new book titled The Sit-Ins: Protest & Legal Change in the Civil Rights Era (University of Chicago Press) examines the sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement in the
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Justice Stephen Breyer’s Memorable First Amendment Passages
Justice Stephen G. Breyer is one of the more scholarly jurists to serve on the nation’s high court, authoring such thought-provoking books such as Active Liberty (2006), Making Our Democracy Work
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Parole Officer is Garcettized, Loses First Amendment Retaliation Case
A longtime parole officer for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) lost her First Amendment retaliation case before a federal district court. The ruling shows
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