First Amendment News

Former Kansas Newspaper Reporter Settles Lawsuit Over Police Raid for $235K

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former reporter for a weekly Kansas newspaper has agreed to accept $235,000 to settle part of her federal lawsuit over a police raid on the paper that made a small community the focus of a …

Los Angeles Will Pay $300K to Settle Lawsuit Against Journalist Over Undercover Photos

Los Angeles has agreed to pay $300,000 to cover the legal fees of a local journalist and a technology watchdog group that had been sued by the city last year for publishing photos of names and photographs of hundreds of …

Nurse Honored for Compassion Is Fired After Referring to Gaza ‘Genocide’ in Speech

A nurse was fired by a New York City hospital after she referred to Israel’s war in Gaza as a “genocide” during a speech accepting an award. Labor and delivery nurse Hesen Jabr, who is Palestinian American, was being honored …

First Amendment Does Not Protect Social Media Retaliation Against Employees

A federal court in Vermont recently ruled that the First Amendment does not protect a construction firm and its officials using social media to retaliate against employees who exercise their rights under federal labor law. The decision by the U.S. …

NRA to Have Surprising Defender in Supreme Court Free Speech Case: the ACLU

In a case of politics making strange bedfellows, the National Rifle Association will be represented by frequent nemesis the American Civil Liberties Union in an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court. The New York-based civil liberties group confirmed Saturday that …

NYU Langone Doctor Sues Over Firing for Posts Backing Israel

A doctor who ran a cancer center at NYU Langone Health filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired for social media posts relating to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. Dr. Benjamin Neel, the director of the Laura …

Texas Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Challenge to Public Adjuster Law

Insurers and the Texas Department of Insurance hope to persuade the state Supreme Court to block a constitutional challenge to a law that prohibits roofing contractors from acting as public adjusters on their customers’ damage claims. The high court heard …

Court Allows Philly Cops Fired Over Facebook Posts to Pursue 1st Amendment Claims

A dozen Philadelphia police officers who were fired or suspended for racist and violent social media posts can pursue a lawsuit against the city claiming their First Amendment rights were violated, a federal appeals court ruled. The officers’ social media …

Small Town Debates Students’ Pastry Mural. Is It Art or Zoning Violation?

CONWAY, N.H. (AP) – Bakery owner Sean Young was thrilled when high school art students covered the big blank wall over his doorway last spring with a painting of the sun shining over a mountain range made of sprinkle-covered chocolate …

In Supreme Court Jack Daniel’s Case, a Free Speech Fight Over a Dog Toy

A trademark dispute over a poop-themed dog toy shaped like a Jack Daniel’s whiskey bottle coming before the U.S. Supreme Court could redefine how the judiciary applies constitutional free speech rights to trademark law. In a case to be argued …