BOISE, Idaho — In Idaho, an art exhibit was censored and teens were told they couldn’t testify in some legislative hearings. In Washington state, a lawmaker proposed a hotline so the government could track offensively biased statements as well as hate crimes. In Florida, bloggers are fighting a bill that would force them to register with the state if they ...
Read More »Tag Archives: First Amendment
What the First Amendment really says – 4 basic principles of free speech in the US
Elon Musk has claimed he believes in free speech no matter what. He calls it a bulwark against tyranny in America and promises to reconstruct Twitter, which he now owns, so that its policy on free expression "matches the law." Yet his grasp of the First Amendment – the law that governs free speech in the U.S. – appears to be quite limited. And he's not alone.
Read More »Trump can’t beat Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in court – but the fight might be worth more than a win
From condo salesman to reality TV host to leader of the free world, Donald Trump has occupied several lifetimes’ worth of identities over a remarkable career of reinventions. Even so, the billionaire mogul’s latest metamorphosis – into a consumer-rights plaintiff seeking to regulate big business – is a peculiar one. With a volley of lawsuits against the operators of Facebook, ...
Read More »Supreme Court to hear case on transgender sex-offender registry
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a Shawano County transgender woman who has been prohibited from changing her name because of her listing on the state sex-offender registry.
Read More »Facebook board upholds Trump suspension
Since the day after the deadly Jan. 6 riots on the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump's social media accounts have been silent — muzzled for inciting violence using the platforms as online megaphones.
Read More »Timeline: Where the second stay-at-home order lawsuit stands
As Wisconsin awaits a decision in the Legislature's lawsuit over Gov. Tony Evers' stay-at-home order, another challenge to the extended order is proceeding.
Read More »Protesters vow to rally without permit
Organizers of a rally against Wisconsin's stay-at-home order said Wednesday that they'll proceed with the event even though their permit to hold it on the grounds of the Capitol was denied.
Read More »Marquette County sheriff sued for threatening teen over COVID-19 Instagram post
A teenager and her parents are suing the Marquette County Sheriff for threatening to arrest them over an Instagram post the teen wrote about having COVID-19.
Read More »Judge rules against conservative think tank in Evers lawsuit
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers can exclude members of a conservative think tank from attending press briefings and keep them off his email list sent to other reporters, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
Read More »Assembly passes punishments for disrupting campus speeches
Republican lawmakers continued their drive Tuesday to punish students who disrupt conservative speakers on college campuses, pushing through the state Assembly a bill that calls for suspensions and expulsions.
Read More »Evers defends government’s response to child abuse report
Gov. Tony Evers is defending his administration's decision to threaten prosecution to block a journalist from publishing information from a confidential child-abuse investigation.
Read More »Evers will kill plan to punish UW free speech disrupters
Gov. Tony Evers will kill a contentious plan to punish students who disrupt free speech on University of Wisconsin System campuses, his spokeswoman said Friday as system regents took another step toward implementing the policy.
Read More »Court strikes down Montana law barring political robocalls
A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Montana can't ban political robocalls in response to their content alone, marking the latest in a string of court decisions against U.S. states that are trying to restrict automated phone calls promoting political campaigns.
Read More »Conservative think tank sues Wisconsin’s Evers over access (UPDATE)
A conservative think tank has filed a federal lawsuit against Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, alleging that he violated the First Amendment rights of staff members who were denied access to a press briefing and kept off an advisory list sent to other reporters.
Read More »Tomah School Board bans Confederate flag
Tomah is joining seven other schools in the Mississippi Valley Conference that are banning displays of the Confederate flag.
Read More »School district: Free-speech protects those in viral photo
Officials with a Wisconsin school district say free-speech rights would make it difficult to discipline students who appeared in a photograph that showed several high school boys giving what appears to be a Nazi salute.
Read More »SCOTUS strikes down voter clothing law
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Minnesota law that barred voters in the state from wearing a wide range of political hats, T-shirts and pins to the polls.
Read More »State to pay $30,000 to settle sign theft lawsuit
State taxpayers will pay $30,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed against a lawmaker who stole a sign from a protester referring to President Donald Trump as "sadistic," ''racist" and a "serial groper."
Read More »Kennedy wrestles with wedding cake case at Supreme Court (UPDATE)
The U.S. Supreme Court is taking up a highly anticipated case involving a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
Read More »Democrat Evers opposes UW free speech resolution
State superintendent Tony Evers on Tuesday spoke out against a resolution pending at the University of Wisconsin that could lead to students being expelled for protesting at campus events and speeches.
Read More »Mother says profanity toward son is free speech
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is deciding whether a mother's profane tirade against her 14-year-old son for burning popcorn amounts to free speech.
Read More »US Supreme Court abolishes ban on offensive trademarks
The clause was ultimately found to violate First Amendment free-speech rights. The decision is already making itself felt.
Read More »Appeals court upholds university library porn citation
An Eau Claire man didn't have a constitutional right to view pornography on a university library computer, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Read More »Federal court shoots down Illinois sheriff’s crusade against Backpage.com
A federal court has ruled that an Illinois sheriff violated a classifieds website’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression by pressuring credit card companies to cut ties with the website.
Read More »Indiana county to allow Nativity scene with Bill of Rights
An eastern Indiana county that has been at the center of months-long legal battle over a Nativity scene that has been a courthouse tradition for five decades will allow a mixture of religious and secular displays this holiday season.
Read More »Backpage ad site: Aider of traffickers or way to stop them?
The adult ads on Backpage.com are endless — written in a sort of risque code to avoid implying something illegal, yet still obvious invitations for sex, adorned with suggestive photos and videos. Many in the fight against sex trafficking loathe the website, particularly since some escorts in the ads have turned out to be minors who've been forced into the sex trade.
Read More »US justices take up dispute over union fees
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider limiting the power of government employee unions to collect fees from non-members in a case that labor officials say could threaten membership and further weaken union clout.
Read More »Dispute over union fees could return to US Supreme Court
Powerful public-sector unions are facing another high-profile legal challenge that they say could wipe away millions from their bank accounts and make it tougher for them to survive.
Read More »BENCH BLOG: Elections don’t turn judges into politicians
In a surprising decision delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld state rules forbidding judicial candidates from personally asking donors for campaign money.
Read More »US justices struggle with free speech case over license plates
The U.S. Supreme Court struggled Monday in a dispute over a proposed Confederate battle flag license plate to balance worries about government censorship and concerns that offensive messages could, at worst, incite violence.
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