305 results for 'cat:"First Amendment"'.
J. Merchant preserves an online journalist-activist’s civil rights and equitable relief complaint alleging Inna Vernikov, a sitting New York City Councilmember, violated her First Amendment rights when she blocked her on X, formerly known as Twitter, due to a series of comments criticizing her policies. The councilmember argued the claims are now moot because she has since unblocked the journalist. However, the court finds the councilmember has not provided enough assurances that she or one of her staff members will not block the journalist again in the future.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Merchant, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv3460, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: first Amendment, Technology
J. Mannion grants New York Magazine’s motion to dismiss an expert witness’s claims of false light and invasion of privacy concerning an article stating he was a “fraud.” The expert, who hangs his hat as a criminal profiler, says the magazine omitted several critical facts, but he identified no falsehoods and has not shown the reporter acted with actual malice.
Court: USDC Middle District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Mannion, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv2166, NOS: Assault, Libel, & Slander - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Defamation, first Amendment
J. Pechman finds that a jury must determine whether the protesters' First Amendment rights were violated when they were arrested and booked in jail for writing political messages in sidewalk chalk and charcoal on the city's temporarily erected walls outside of the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct. "While this case does not implicate the city's ability to enforce its property destruction ordinance more generally, it touches on questions impacting the public civil discourse and free speech in Seattle."
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Pechman, Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv17, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Municipal Law, first Amendment
Per curiam, with Justices Chutich and Procaccini taking no part, the Minnesota Supreme Court grants the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair's petition seeking decertification of the Legal Marijuana Now Party as a major Minnesota political party. The statute establishing that major parties meet requirements including the establishment of state central and executive committees and local conventions and committees does not violate the party's First Amendment associational rights, and Legal Marijuana Now has not satisfied all of the statutory requirements.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: A24-0216, Categories: Constitution, Elections, first Amendment
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J. Hicks grants the Department of the Interior's motion to dismiss. The nonprofit wild horse public education group challenges the government's proposed "gather" of excess horses for population control purposes. Certain federal code precludes liability in federal government actors, and cited case law remedies are not available against a federal agency. Relief specific to a concluded gather is moot, though not as to future gathers. The bureau's motion to dismiss the First Amendment cause of action is granted, as it fails to establish a qualified right to view “humane” gathers.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Hicks , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv372, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Agency, first Amendment
J. Orrick dismisses all civil rights claims from U.S. News against the San Francisco Attorney's Office over subpoenas that the office issued to the news agency looking for information related to what methodologies it used to rank the hospitals in the United States. U.S. News says the subpoenas infringe on its First Amendment rights. The attorney's office, having voiced concerns that the news agency might be in violation of California code regarding its ranking activities, has a legal interest in the information and any claims from the agency that the subpoenas will quell its free speech are speculative and without merit.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Orrick, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 3:24cv395, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, first Amendment
J. Hamilton finds that the lower court properly found for the city on constitutional and defamation claims filed by a business owner who claims the city denied his business an emergency grant because he had gone to an illegal anti-lockdown rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol. The state's Safer at Home Order was a valid restriction on speech and public gatherings due to the government interest in stopping the spread of Covid-19. Further, it was not unreasonable for the city to have denied discretionary funds to a business whose manager had violated the law and contributed to the public health crisis. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Hamilton, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 23-1208, Categories: Defamation, Covid-19, first Amendment
J. Segal partially affirms the district court in a case surrounding information gathered by journalists covering protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Minnesota Free Flow of Information Act protects newsgathering information from disclosure whether or not they were obtained through unlawful or tortious conduct. The district court erred in ordering the media organization to produce a privilege log and submit information it was claiming as privileged for in camera review. Affirmed in part.
Court: Minnesota Court Of Appeals, Judge: Segal, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: A23-1284, Categories: Public Record, Privilege, first Amendment
J. Chun declines to dismiss the school faculty member's retaliation claim in his complaint alleging that the university president wrongfully fired the faculty member for putting a statement in his class syllabus, emails and outside his faculty office door about the Coast Salish tribe's claim to land that read, "I acknowledge that by the labor theory of property the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of almost none of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington." The school faculty member plausibly alleges a First Amendment retaliation claim as his speech “related to scholarship or teaching." While the university and its president cite the "Johnson v. Poway Unified School District" decision that allows discipline of speech on school grounds, that case's analysis focuses on secondary school education, not college education.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Chun, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv964, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, Employment Retaliation, first Amendment
Per curiam, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts affirms the denial of relief to protesters and advocates’ challenge to the constitutionality of a 200-foot buffer area around a courthouse where protest is not allowed to occur, as a way of protecting the right to a fair trial and prevent jurors, witnesses and others coming to or leaving the courthouse from being obstructed. Protesters may still protest, just not within the buffer zone.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: SJC-13589, Categories: Judiciary, Equal Protection, first Amendment
J. Bell orders a health system and multiple third parties, including Morgan Stanley & Co., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Aetna, to carefully review their requests to seal what they believe to be highly-sensitive information during this litigation. The health system and third parties are concerned that any financial information revealed to the public could potentially cause economic damage. However, not all information is that sensitive in nature and the public has a right to know information in its own interest. Thus, the health system and third parties are ordered to reevaluate their requests and specifically show how the information would be potentially injurious to them before the court makes a decision.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv28, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Health Care, first Amendment
J. Carter denies the conservative law professor's motion to enforce a preliminary injunction against the New York Attorney General to prohibit enforcement of the Hateful Conduct Law, which requires social media networks to provide mechanism for reporting hateful conduct on their platforms. The professor failed to show the AG violated the injunction by sending investigative letters to six social media networks regarding the state's growing concern about antisemitism and Islamaphobia. The AG has other statutory authority to issue such letters, and there is no evidence the letters had any impact on the platforms' conduct.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Carter, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv10195, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Restraining Order, first Amendment
J. Carson finds that the lower court properly issued a preliminary injunction against a school district after it sought to restrict an advocate's access to school district facilities and volunteer work. The school district issued the restrictions after the advocate criticized certain people in the district and wanted change, but his criticisms fell under the protections of the First Amendment. The school district's actions against him, as a result, constituted retaliation against free speech. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Carson , Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 23-1000, Categories: Education, first Amendment, Injunction
J. Watson dismisses a complaint, filed by the owner of a controversial vanity license plate reading “FCKBLM,” against Honolulu for attempting to revoke the plate. Vanity license plates are a form of government speech that are subject to rules about profanity that are not too vague. Those regulations do not restrict messages based on viewpoint, as the owner suggested, and the letters FCK can be interpreted as an expletive and are not in themselves a protected viewpoint.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Watson, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv407, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Government, first Amendment
J. Rodriguez denies an organization’s motion for an injunction and temporary restraining order after it sued the city of Kerrville, arguing local ordinances on “peddlers and solicitors” and “electioneering” violate the First Amendment. Despite expressing “generalized” concerns about the ordinances, the suing parties have not shown specific plans to engage in proscribed conduct and therefore lack standing for a restraining order.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv403, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Government, first Amendment
J. Graham denies the ballot referendum petitioners' motion for a preliminary injunction, ruling that they cannot establish standing to bring First Amendment claims against the Ohio Attorney General. Their issue regarding delays in the ballot certification process cannot be traced to the actions of the Attorney General, but is actually a claim against the judicial branch of the government and its methods for certification of a ballot issue.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Graham, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 2:24cv1401, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Elections, first Amendment
J. King finds in favor of the city against the protester's complaint that several of the city's unnamed officers used unreasonable force against her during a Seattle protest against George Floyd's murder on the night of June 7, 2020. The protester's First Amendment claim fails because he was not protesting or filming for journalistic purposes, he violated dispersal orders, and he does not produce any evidence that the police retaliated against him or the crowed for protected activities.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: King, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv1343, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, first Amendment, Police Misconduct
J. Lampkin finds that the lower court properly dismissed an attorney's First Amendment challenge to a village ordinance requiring public comments of special village board meetings to be germane to agenda items. This relevancy restriction on council meetings is reasonable, even though it is content based, in light of the purpose of board meetings to effectively conduct business of specified matters and ensure citizens have the time to present their views. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Lampkin, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 230139, Categories: Municipal Law, first Amendment
J. Moore finds the lower court erroneously granted the village's motion for summary judgment on constitutional claims filed by the advertising company. The "public-service" exemption included in the village's ordinance on off-site billboards is a content-based restriction that requires the application of strict scrutiny. Therefore, because certain types of signs, including those that do not advertise a service or consumer good, are treated differently than those designed to provide information to the public at large, the regulation is unconstitutional and the case will be reinstated to allow the lower court to determine if that portion of the ordinance can be severed. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Moore, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 23-3623, Categories: Constitution, Government, first Amendment
J. Kennelly partially grants a former Chicago public school student’s motion for class certification, for all students who “participated in the Quiet Time program in Chicago Public Schools during Chicago Public School’s academic calendar” between 2015 and 2019, and turned 18 on Jan. 13, 2021, or later. The court finds the student has sufficiently alleged the public school system’s “Quiet Time” program had “hidden” Hindu religious elements, such as chanting Sanskrit mantras that honored Hindu deities.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Kennelly, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 123cv218, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, Class Action, first Amendment
J. Carter denies the council's motion for a preliminary injunction against the state's age-based sales restriction on diet pills and supplements for muscle building that contain ingredients other than protein. The state has a legitimate governmental interest in protecting minors from access to dietary supplements that are connected to eating disorders. Further, the law does not regulate the supplement-maker's speech or the manner in which they advertise their products, just that customers show verification they are over age 18 to purchase the products.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Carter, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 1:24cv1881, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Commerce, Restraining Order, first Amendment
J. Heytens finds the lower court properly denied the electoral board members' motion to dismiss First Amendment claims. The City of Lynchburg's registrar from 2018 to 2023 claims the board's two Republican members refused to reappoint her to the position, not for the failure of duty but because she was not a loyal Donald Trump supporter. The members are correct in assuming sovereign immunity bars the registrar from recovering monetary damages, but she is entitled to seek injunctive relief. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 23-1902, Categories: Government, Immunity, first Amendment
J. Bybee finds that the district court improperly denied an individual's motion for preliminary injunctive relief in an action arising from two events, an abortion rally and an LGBTQ+ pride event, in which the individual, a devout Christian, sought to read Bible passages and was arrested for obstructing a police officer after he refused to move to a different location. The individual alleges that attendees at both events physically assaulted him, stole his Bibles and ripped them up. He further alleges that Seattle police opted to arrest the individual for obstructing rather than deal with the attendees who assaulted him. The individual established a likelihood of success on the merits of his First Amendment claim. Reversed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Bybee, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 23-35481, Categories: Constitution, Assault, first Amendment