first amendment

Ohio Supreme Court Rolls Back Awful Rulings, Says Cop Must Use His Real Name If He Wants To Keep His Defamation Suit Going 4 March 2022 All the way back in August 2020, a Cincinnati (OH) police officer decided to sue some fellow citizens for defamation. The cop went after the authors of...

Phoenix City Council Says PD Can Have Surveillance Drones Without Any Policy In Place Because Some Officers Recently Got Shot 25 February 2022 The Phoenix Police Department wants drones and it wants them now. And, according to this report by the Phoenix New Times, it’s going to get them...

ICE settles with immigrant rights leader who sued over first amendment violations Ravi Ragbir said he was targeted for deportation because of protected speech criticizing ICE and the immigration enforcement regime. 24 February 2022 A NEW YORK CITY activist who alleged in court that he was...

Secret Surveillance Warrants Remain Secret In November, the Supreme Court declined to consider an ACLU petition arguing that the public has a First Amendment right to see the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's classified decisions. 24 February 2022 For nearly a decade, the American...

Arizona House Committee Approves Bill To Criminalize Filming Cops on the Job "You'll have a bunch of people who plead to avoid trial or go broke trying to vindicate their rights." 22 February 2022 The Arizona House Appropriations Committee on Monday green-lit a bill that would criminalize...

FOIA Lawsuit Featuring A DC Police Whistleblower Says PD Conspired To Screw Requesters It Didn't Like 17 February 2022 It's no secret government agencies love to screw with FOIA requesters. This is especially true when the responding agency doesn't care for the requester's attitude or thinks...

Appeals Court Rules Ohio Cops Didn't Have Cause To Arrest Man Wearing 'Fuck the Police' Shirt The sheriff's deputies are also not entitled to qualified immunity because the First Amendment right to offend police has been repeatedly upheld. 9 February 2022 Sheriff's deputies in Ohio didn't...

Spring Hill, Kansas, officer/intimidater Shaun Whitesell (left) & Olathe, Kansas, officer/dog killer Mark Cantrell Court Grants Qualified Immunity To Officer Who Told Couple To Take Down Facebook Post About Off-Duty Cop Who Shot Their Dog 7 February 2022 This case -- sent to us by Eric...

D.C. Cops Conspired to Keep Records From Reporters, Activists, and Critics, Says Lawsuit Defense lawyer Amy Phillips is suing over what she calls the department's "watchlist policy." 3 February 2022 Did D.C. cops conspire to keep damning information from people and groups critical of them...

New York Restricts Free Legal Advice. Now It Faces a First Amendment Lawsuit A pastor and a nonprofit challenge occupational licensing rules. 31 January 2022 A pastor and a nonprofit are suing the state of New York, demanding the state recognize their First Amendment right to give free advice...

11th Circuit Says a Sheriff Violated the First Amendment by Posting Warning Signs on the Lawns of Registered Sex Offenders Butts County, Georgia, Sheriff Gary Long cited no evidence to support his pre-Halloween stunt. 1 February 2022 A Georgia sheriff violated the First Amendment when he...

Biden’s DOJ continues to defend bad cops and wrongful convictions 26 January 2022 During the George Floyd protests, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden forcefully condemned the violent eviction of protesters from D.C.'s Lafayette Square just before President Donald Trump’s photo op at St...

There Is Nothing 'Conservative' About Letting Police Violate Our Rights Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's support for qualified immunity is in opposition to the principles he says he stands for. 21 January 2021 Newly-minted Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin appears on track to become somewhat of a...

The Ord government -- including the local police chief -- didn't like receiving this constant stream of letters. So, the town sued Brock, seeking a restraining order forbidding him from writing to government officials. The town, unsurprisingly, lost this lawsuit. Small Nebraska Town Pays...

Man assaulted, arrested for taking video of sheriff’s deputies WBTV Investigates: Lincoln County deputies tased man who called for medical help 13 January 2022 A man was assaulted and arrested while taking video of an incident involving Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies and other first...

Judge: Baton Rouge Violated the First Amendment by Trying To Imprison a Professor for Sharing Body Camera Footage It was the city that put the footage in the public record in the first place. 10 January 2022 The city of Baton Rouge tried to throw a law professor in prison after he shared...

Next time lawyer up, bozo, or at least have a game plan for contesting an over-zealous cop's not-really-legal orders. Man with rifle case, but no gun, outside courthouse gets 210 days for obstruction, resisting arrest 21 March 2016 There was only a tripod, a camera and other accessories in...

DHS, ICE Begin Body Camera Pilot Program With Surprisingly Good Policies In Place 30 December 2021 Following protests over killings by law enforcement officers, the Department of Justice decided it might be a good idea to equip more police officers with body cameras. In May 2015, it announced...

He Was a Board Member of the Oath Keepers. Now He’s Holding State-Approved Trainings for Law Enforcement in Texas. Richard Mack wants your sheriff to defy the government. 29 October 2021 On a glorious Saturday morning in October, about 75 people are gathered inside an airy warehouse on the...

WATCH: Cops Smack Man’s Phone Out of His Hand, Flip Him Off, Then Beat the Hell Out of Him — For Filming 22 December 2021 Filming the police is entirely legal, in every state. However, all too often, we will see police officers overstep their authority and arrest, attack, and assault innocent...