Protect students' right to display the American flag despite "hecklers," free-speech icons urge Supreme Court

The plaintiffs in the landmark Tinker student-speech case are asking the Supreme Court to accept, and reverse, a California case finding no First Amendment violation in a school's decision to ban American flag logo apparel that the school claimed might worsen ethnic tensions.

Federal ruling extends housing-discrimination liability to writers of "harassing" blog posts

It's illegal to "interfere with" a person's efforts to obtain housing based on disability status, but a federal appeals court has become the first to rule that "interference" can mean making insulting comments on a blog, even if you're just a bystander and not the landlord.

A string of recent rulings make school boards safer places for dissenting views

Schools come by their hostility to freedom of speech honestly; they get it from their school boards, which are habitually hostile to dissenters.Many school districts forbid speakers from criticizing school employees during the public-comment portion of board meetings. Some go even further and prohibit mentioning any proper names.That's changing, because of a growing legal consensus that it's… Continue reading A string of recent rulings make school boards safer places for dissenting views