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October 11, 2008 3:59:43 AM CDT

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Stories related to: First Amendment

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Stories 1 - 20 of 27

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  • September 2008

    • Va. Court Voids Spam Law

      Richmond Times Dispatch (VA)  |  Sep 12, 08 1:32 PM CDT

      Va. Court Voids Spam Law

      (Newser) - Virginia’s anti-spam laws are unconstitutional because they prohibit behavior shielded by the First Amendment, the state’s supreme court ruled today. The ruling overturns the conviction of Jeremy Jaynes, who received the nation’s first felony spam conviction in 2004, the Richmond Times-Dispatch says. Prosecutors alleged Jaynes sent up to 10 million emails a day from his North Carolina home. More »

      Tags

      email  • Virginia  • free speech  • spam  • First Amendment  • felony

  • August 2008
  • July 2008

    • Maryland Cops Spied on Peaceniks

      Baltimore Sun  |  Jul 18, 08 4:25 AM CDT

      Maryland Cops Spied on Peaceniks

      (Newser) - Groups opposing the death penalty and the war in Iraq were infiltrated and spied on by undercover Maryland State Police officers, according to police logs obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union. Some activists were placed on terrorist and drug trafficking databases with no evidence they were involved in any illegal activity, reports the Baltimore Sun .  More »

      Tags

      surveillance  • First Amendment  • domestic surveillance  • American Civil Liberties Union  • terrorists

    • Teenagers Have Rights, Too

      Seattle Post-Intelligencer  |  Jul 12, 08 7:10 PM CDT

      Teenagers Have Rights, Too

      (Newser) - "Teenagers have constitutional rights." That shouldn’t be controversial, but several schools are in court arguing that the First Amendment doesn't apply to students, writes Frank LoMonte in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Morse v. Frederick set a precedent last year, when Supreme Court judges ruled that students could be punished for a “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” banner—even though it was off school grounds. More »

      Tags

      US Supreme Court  • education  • school  • First Amendment  • freedom of speech

    • Philly Guides Seek Liberty From Licensing Law

      Philadelphia Inquirer  |  Jul 3, 08 10:40 AM CDT

      Philly Guides Seek Liberty From Licensing Law

      (Newser) - Three tour guides in the cradle of democracy are taking the city to court over a law they say tramples on their constitutional rights, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer . The law compels Philadelphia guides to pay a fee and take a test to get a tour license—and the plaintiffs argue the requirements violate their First Amendment right to free speech. More »

      Tags

      Philadelphia  • First Amendment  • tourists  • Constitution  • freedom of speech

  • June 2008

    • Hate Speech: Is US Protection Too Broad?

      New York Times  |  Jun 12, 08 8:39 AM CDT

      Hate Speech: Is US Protection Too Broad?

      (Newser) - Several years ago American conservative journalist Mark Steyn published a piece denigrating Islam in Maclean's , the leading newsweekly in Canada. While its tone was sharp, its content was no more inflammatory than the material in American rightwing publications. But now Maclean's is facing trial for publishing hate speech, writes Adam Liptak in the Times , in a story highlighting the uniqueness of US free speech protections, and questioning whether they're out of date. More »

      Tags

      censorship  • First Amendment  • Constitution  • hate speech

    • Justices Don't Buy MLB's Fantasy Pitch

      Los Angeles Times  |  Jun 2, 08 2:15 PM CDT

      Justices Don't Buy MLB's Fantasy Pitch

      (Newser) - The Supreme Court refused today to hear an appeal by Major League Baseball against a ruling that allowed fantasy sports leagues to use real players' names and stats without paying a licensing fee, the Los Angeles Time s reports. MLB contended such leagues shouldn't "exploit players' identity for commercial gain;" the for-profit ventures said free-speech law allows it. More »

      Tags

      MLB  • baseball  • US Supreme Court  • athlete  • First Amendment  • statistics  • fantasy sports

  • March 2008

    • Swiss Bank Drops Wikileaks Lawsuit

      Associated Press  |  Mar 6, 08 3:32 PM CST

      Swiss Bank Drops Wikileaks Lawsuit

      (Newser) - The Swiss bank that sued over private documents posted on Wikileaks.org has withdrawn the motion, the AP reports. Bank Julius Baer did not say why it pulled the case, but the cease-fire brings an end to a case that raised First Amendment questions when a judge ordered the site to remove the documents. Those questions later prompted the judge to revoke the injunction. More »

      Tags

      lawsuit  • Switzerland  • free speech  • First Amendment  • Wikileaks

    • Wikileaks Judge Reverses His Own Injunction

      San Francisco Chronicle  |  Mar 1, 08 7:20 AM CST

      Wikileaks Judge Reverses His Own Injunction

      (Newser) - The judge who (tried to) shut down Wikileaks by issuing an injunction against the whistleblowing site has changed his mind and lifted the order, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Judge Jeffrey White said his original order, designed to protect a Swiss Bank's information, raised "serious questions of prior restraint and possible violations of the First Amendment." More »

      Tags

      Internet  • free speech  • First Amendment  • ACLU  • whistleblowers  • Wikileaks  • Julius Baer Group

  • February 2008

    • Wikileaks.org Closing Doesn't Secure Bank's Client Info

      Associated Press  |  Feb 28, 08 3:00 PM CST

      Wikileaks.org Closing Doesn't Secure Bank's Client Info

      (Newser) - Legal action resulting in the closing of whistleblower site Wikileaks.org has backfired for the Swiss bank that sought to protect confidential information about their clients, the AP reports. Popular outrage over the closing of the site over its posting of documents from Bank Julius Baer has cause the widespread circulation of those documents on privacy advocacy websites, as well as on Wikileaks own mirrors. More »

      Tags

      online privacy  • First Amendment  • ACLU  • Wikileaks  • Julius Baer Group

    • Outcry Over Leak Site Closure Order

      ComputerWorld  |  Feb 20, 08 1:04 PM CST

      Outcry Over Leak Site Closure Order

      (Newser) - Privacy and First Amendment advocates are fuming after a judge ordered an entire website shut down in response to a lawsuit. Wikileaks.org had allowed whistleblowers to anonymously post confidential documents, reports ComputerWorld . A critic calls closing down the whole website in response to a Swiss bank's complaint "like putting a padlock on the front door of the New York Times," over a single article. More »

      Tags

      online privacy  • First Amendment  • Wikileaks  • Julius Baer Group

    • Cheney Resists Testifying in 'Attack' Lawsuit

      Los Angeles Times  |  Feb 4, 08 7:36 PM CST

      Cheney Resists Testifying in 'Attack' Lawsuit

      (Newser) - A man collared on suspicion of assaulting Dick Cheney two years ago wants the veep to testify in court—but is it likely? Cheney would only have to if his testimony is unobtainable by other means, one expert said—exactly what Cheney's lawyer argued last week in court. But one Washington attorney said Steve Howards, 55, Cheney's alleged attacker, has a case for getting Cheney to testify. More »

      Tags

      Dick Cheney  • First Amendment  • Secret Service  • Fourth Amendment

  • January 2008

    • ABC Faces Hefty FCC Fine for Bare Bottom

      Hollywood Reporter  |  Jan 26, 08 2:01 PM CST

      ABC Faces Hefty FCC Fine for Bare Bottom

      (Newser) - The airing of a woman’s bare bottom almost five years ago could cost ABC $1.43 million, if the FCC gets its way. The media watchdog levied the maximum penalty last night against the Disney-owned broadcaster for a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue . The stiff penalty is a sign the FCC’s anti-indecency initiative is back in full force, the Hollywood Reporter says.