From Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University v. Trump, 2019 WL 2932440 (2d CIr. July 9, 2019): Considering the interactive features, the speech in question is that of multiple individuals, not just the President or that of the government. When a Twitter user posts a reply to one of the President’s tweets, the message…
Read More Trump Twitter Blocking Violates the First Amendment, Second Circuit HoldsIn an Order issued yesterday in Canada v. Perkins Coie LLP, 18-cv-11635 (SDNY April 2, 2019), an employment discrimination case, the court held that the EEOC charge submitted with plaintiff’s complaint was not subject to sealing and should be accessible to the public. In reaching this conclusion, Southern District of New York Judge Furman wrote:…
Read More EEOC Charge Subject to Public View, Court FindsToday, March 3, 2019, marks the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919), an important First Amendment case setting the stage for the modern interpretation of the First Amendment. The unanimous Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., upheld the convictions, under…
Read More “Shouting Fire in a Theatre”: Schenck v. United States Turns 100In Triana v. Sodexo, Inc., 2018 WL 6413151, at *7 (S.D.N.Y., 2018), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s First Amendment retaliation claim. The court provides the following summary of the relevant law: Where a plaintiff claims that he or she was retaliated against in violation of the First Amendment, he or she must demonstrate that “(1)…
Read More First Amendment Retaliation Claim DismissedPresident Trump attracts lawsuits like a magnet attracts iron filings. In a lawsuit filed November 13, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, captioned Cable News Network, Inc. et al v. Donald J. Trump et al (U.S. Dist. Ct. D.C. Cir. filed Nov. 13, 2018), plaintiffs CNN and Jim Acosta accuse…
Read More CNN & Jim Acosta File First Amendment-Based Lawsuit Against Trump et alToday is “Flag Day,” which according to one source “commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.” Some legal tidbits about Old Glory: The U.S. Flag Code, codified at Chapter 1 of Title 4 of the United States Code (4 U.S.C. § 1 et…
Read More Happy Flag Day 2018In a 7-2 decision issued today, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (U.S. No. 16-111 June 4, 2018) (J. Kennedy), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to create a cake for a gay couple’s wedding because of his claimed religious opposition to same-sex marriage. Importantly,…
Read More SCOTUS Issues Narrow Decision in Baker’s Favor in “Gay Wedding Cake” CaseIn a decision issued today, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia Univ. et al v. Donald Trump et al, 17-cv-5205 (S.D.N.Y. May 23, 2018), U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald held that Donald Trump may not, consistent with the First Amendment, “block” Twitter users from his @realDonaldTrump Twitter account based on their political views. From…
Read More Trump Twitter Ban Violates the First Amendment, SDNY Judge Holds