Robinson v. Bowser The interest of protecting the privacy of non-parties to this action outweighs the First Amendment right of access to certain materials included in or with the Parties’ summary judgment filings. However, because Plaintiff made her own personnel information a matter of public concern by bringing this action, because said information appears critical to resolution of this case, and because Plaintiff has failed to articulate any specific harm that might result from the disclosure of that information, Plaintiff’s desire to keep said information from the public’s view does not outweigh the public’s First Amendment right of access.

Tagged with: First Amendment

Cooksey v. Futrell A plaintiff who operated a “Diabetes Warrior” website advising on the “Paleolithic” diet for diabetics can sue on a First Amendment claim after a state agency that licenses dieticians sent him a “red-pen” review of “areas of concern” that could be construed as the unlicensed practice of dietetics;

Tagged with: First Amendment

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has come out strong for passing a federal shield law. And maybe that’s the one good thing – the only good thing – to come out of the recent controversy over the Justice Department’s seizure of phone records at The Associated Press and the surveillance of Fox News reporter James Rosen.

Tagged with: First Amendment Freedom of Speech

Price v. City of Fayetteville Plaintiffs have failed to make a strong showing that their First Amendment rights are violated by defendants’ confinement of literature distribution to designated areas of a town festival. Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is denied.

Tagged with: First Amendment

Hellbender, Inc. v. Town of Boone Music, as a form of expression, is protected under the First Amendment

Tagged with: First Amendment

Smith v. Gilchrist Given the complexities of determining when an assistant district attorney is entitled to First Amendment protection when he speaks out on a matter that concerns the District Attorney’s office, the plaintiff-ADA did not have a clearly defined right to give an interview in which he criticized a program closely associated with the DA’s office.

Tagged with: First Amendment

Elabanjo v. Bellevance Even though plaintiff’s district-court conviction of being drunk and disorderly was overturned on appeal, the conviction conclusively establishes that the defendant-police officers had probable cause to arrest plaintiff on those charges.

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional First Amendment Fourth Amendment

Sood v. Sood The trial court’s custody order was temporary in that it left open the issues of psychological evaluations of the parties’ mental conditions, the defendant-father’s child support arrearage, and holiday schedules after the 2012 spring break. In fact, the father concedes in his brief that the custody order is temporary. Therefore, the order is interlocutory.

Tagged with: Civil Practice Domestic Relations First Amendment Interlocutory Appeal Judges parent & child Religion

At the request of the Dunn city council, city attorney Tilghman Pope is busy researching just how tight constitutional protections of saggy pants might be. Earlier this month the council voted unanimously to have Pope explore the possibility of a baggy-britches ban despite warnings from the American Civil Liberties Union that the First and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee an individual’s right to a wide range of questionable fashion choices.

Tagged with: First Amendment

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a decision barring the federal government from requiring tobacco companies to put large graphic health warnings on cigarette packages to show that smoking can disfigure and even kill people.

Tagged with: FDA First Amendment Free Speech