In February 2017, Ryan Duke was arrested and charged with the murder of Tara Grinstead, who went missing almost 12 years earlier. Tara was a south Georgia high school teacher and beauty queen, and her disappearance and Duke’s subsequent trial attracted substantial media attention. (Indeed, her murder has its own Wikipedia page.) Five days after… Read More Gag Order in Georgia Murder Trial Stuck Down
Michael Fowler and his company Epona, LLC (of which he is the sole member) own a 40-acre piece of land located in Ventura County, in southwest California. Though the land is zoned for agricultural use, Fowler built a garden on the property he wanted to use to host weddings and related events. A county ordinance… Read More California Permitting Scheme for Commercial Weddings Held Unconstitutional
The San Diego Comic Con (“con” is short for “convention”) is an international convention held each summer in San Diego, California. Attendance in recent years has been around 130,000. The San Diego Comic Conn (or SDCC for short) sued Dan Farr Productions, the producers of the “Salt Lake Comic Con”—a similar convention but half the… Read More Gag Order in Comic-Con Trademark Case Violates First Amendment
Jim Barrett is a social-studies teacher at Saddle Ridge Middle School in rural northwest Georgia. He wanted to attend a school-board meeting and express views critical of the board and the superintendent–specifically about a new grading policy that Damon Raines, the superintendent, had implemented without any action by the board. The school board has a… Read More Georgia School Board’s Pre-Meeting Screening Process Held Unconstitutional
The Cleveland Metroparks Department requires a “First Amendment Permit” to engage in “First Amendment Activities” in a Cleveland park. (You can check out their policy and application here and here.) An applicant must apply at least a week in advance, providing her name, address, phone number, name of organization, number of people participating, and the requested… Read More Cleveland Sued for Requiring Permit for “First Amendment Activities”
The FBI sometimes seeks the aid of private tech companies. Those companies have sometimes pushed back. Today’s case is the latest chapter. The FBI conducts national-security investigations. No real surprise there. To help them, a federal law authorizes the FBI to send a “national security letter” or “NSL” to a “wire or electronic communication service provider” requesting… Read More FBI’s Gag Orders to Internet Companies Are Constitutional
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