A citizen activist lost his First Amendment case against a Missouri police department when a federal court held that there is no constitutional right to insist on access to photograph government activities. The ruling does nothing, however, to undermine the well-established right to photograph police when they're doing official business in public.
In a brief filed Monday, the SPLC and seven national press-freedom organizations argue that a federal district judge erred in concluding that a public university can discontinue funding for student media anytime for any reason, even if motivated to punish the editors for unwanted viewpoints.
The Supreme Court avoided an expansive reading of the "government speech" doctrine in a closely watched trademark case that represents yet another blow against content-based government restrictions on speech under the Roberts Court.
Rhode Island lawmakers held a last-minute vote Thursday and unanimously passed two identical New Voices bills in the House and the Senate, then ratified the House version late Friday. Unless the governor vetoes it, House Bill 5550 will make Rhode Island the thirteenth state with a statute protecting student journalists.
The Newseum's annual survey finds generally strong public support for First Amendment principles, but that support wanes when the public is asked whether constitutional principles "go too far" in protecting hateful or offensive speakers.
Students have a constitutionally protected right to record the activities of school authorities on school grounds during school time, unless the school shows that recording will be substantially disruptive, a Maine judge decides in a case that could clarify the rights of student newsgatherers everywhere.
Commentators say the nationally acclaimed reporting of high-school journalists aided by Kansas' Student Publications Act should convince legislators elsewhere to join the growing movement to protect the independence of school-produced journalism.
A case in Virginia has provided a welcome stand against retaliation for students exercising their First Amendment rights. On March 30, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia rejected a motion to dismiss by the defendants in Deegan v. Moore, finding that student Jennifer Deegan had been well within her rights to… Continue reading U.S. District Court affirms First Amendment right to complain in rejecting motion to dismiss former student's complaint
A new survey commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has found that support for First Amendment freedoms is at a 10-year high among high school students.
There is a contractual paradigm that prescribes First Amendment protection at most private universities through student handbooks and codes, but it’s not always fulfilled.