In another blow to the nation’s dwindling labor unions, an appeals court on Tuesday struck down a federal rule that would have required millions of businesses to put up posters informing workers of their right to form a union.
An Illinois police officer claimed he lost his job because he complained that his department had a bad habit of looking the other way when politically connected drivers were caught committing traffic violations.
A small evangelical Christian denomination called Sovereign Grace Ministries was already grappling with fractured leadership, outside scrutiny of its policies and public criticism from former members when a new round of problems emerged.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday publicly reprimanded Milwaukee attorney Timothy Riordan for misconduct, despite the attorney’s protest.
12-1755 Gschwind v. Heiden
11-1473 Capeheart v. Terrell
2010AP2705 DeBruin v. St. Patrick Congregation
When it comes to campaign finance reform, liberals largely are wrong and conservatives only offer a partial and shaky response.
A state university didn’t violate the First Amendment when it disciplined a student in a professional program for posting disrespectful and threatening comments on her Facebook page, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to clearly answer the question of whether plaintiffs can bring First Amendment-based retaliatory arrest claims despite the existence of probable cause.
11-1286 ACLU v. Alvarez
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday unanimously dismissed a case challenging campaign rules that require financial disclosure from groups running issue ads for or against candidates.
2010AP1937-OA Wisconsin Prosperity Network v. Myse
11-1532 Munson v. Gaetz
Business groups are urging a federal court to uphold an order blocking the Food and Drug Administration from implementing a rule requiring tobacco product makers to place large, graphic warnings on product packaging.
A blogger isn’t entitled the statutory and constitutional protections of a journalist when sued for defamation, a U.S. District Court in Oregon has ruled in entering a $2.5 million judgment.
I had been generally aware that some congressmen who don’t like the First Amendment and who particularly dislike the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Citizens United v. FEC, 130 S.Ct. 876 (2010), wanted to get around the decision by passing a constitutional amendment to overturn it.
11-2623 Wisconsin Right to Life State Political Action Committee v. Barland
10-2680 Redd v. Nolan
A judge on Monday blocked a federal requirement that would have begun forcing tobacco companies next year to put graphic images including dead and diseased smokers on their cigarette packages.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that it would not hear an appeal of a ruling that 12-foot-high crosses along Utah highways in honor of dead state troopers violate the Constitution.
10-3497 Greene v. Doruff
This week, Wisconsin is ground zero in the battle between university bureaucrats and free speech champions. No, I’m not talking about the University of Wisconsin’s attempts to stifle criticism of its admission policies. That’s been going on for years, and will continue for many more.
Labor
First Amendment; state employees
Milwaukee (AP) – A federal appeals court in Chicago has upheld the Wisconsin scholastic athletic association’s right to limit who streams its games live on the Internet.
Constitutional Law
First Amendment; campaign finance; matching funds
The U.S. Supreme Court will not be hearing Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge John Siefert’s challenge to the Code of Judicial Conduct. On Monday, the Court denied Siefert’s petition for certiorari in Siefert v. Alexander, bringing to a close a long battle over the free speech rights of judges and judicial candidates. Nevertheless, Siefert said [...]
Soliciting a juror’s injury Sufficiency of the evidence; First Amendment Even though the defendant posted the address and phone numbers of a juror, along with a call for violence, the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction for solicitation to injure a juror. “In order to obtain a conviction in this case, the government had [...]
Civil Rights First Amendment; qualified immunity Where a city’s police arrested marchers en masse despite waiving the permit requirement, the city is not entitled to qualified immunity. “The Chicago police likewise have an unwritten policy of waiving the permit requirement for a spontaneous demonstration, including (so far as we can determine) a ‘planned spontaneous’ demonstration [...]
Employment Public employment; First Amendment Where all employees performing temporary duties in a department were returned to their regular positions at the same time, summary judgment was properly granted to the employer on two employees’ claims that the action was discrimination against them for exercising their First Amendment rights. “Appellants present no evidence that Richardson [...]
