As the world still reels from the COVID-19 outbreak, UNC Law (and its many student-led organizations, like First Amendment Law Review) is learning how to best react to the virus. Accordingly, our journal (and all of the effort it requires–writing, editing, staff meetings, and the like) is now operating remotely. We appreciate your patience as …
Virginia lawmakers have repealed a centuries-old, vague profanity law. The statute criminalized “any person [who] profanely curses or swears” and made any violation thereof a Class 4 misdemeanor. While Virginia joins a host of states who have already repealed such laws, many states still retain profanity statutes. As one spokesman for Virginia’s governor—who is expected …
Last week, Julian Assange was indicted on 17 violations of the Espionage Act, a federal law that prohibits interference with United States military operations and support for enemies in times of war. In 2010, Assange published secret government documents on his website, Wikileaks, and now faces federal prosecution. Scholars have noted that the Espionage Act …
Trump calls for “retribution” over this weeks SNL opening skit with Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of Trump. Trump’s demand for retribution was met with a wave of reminders that the First Amendment allows for freedom of speech. A security guard for an LA synagogue shot a transgender woman in the leg when she began live-streaming the …
By Emily Jessup; Staff Member (Vol. 15) Imagine you’re driving around town, when something catches your eye. You slow down, and look. There, right in front of you, spray painted in giant letters on the side of a house is this: “SCREWED BY THE TOWN OF CARY.” Huh? Why hasn’t the Town done anything about …
By Hanna Fox; Staff Member (Vol. 15) Young people have an unprecedented access to technology, which grants them abundant access to the world around them, as well as to one another constantly. Technology’s increased prevalence is relevant in children’s education, entertainment, and social interactions. Though children experience many benefits from the increased use of technology, that …
By Kirstin Vinal; Staff Member (Vol. 15) Where does a student’s speech stop being under control of their school? Could it be when they are 500 feet away from school property? Or when they are home? In 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Bell v. Itawamba County School Board that speech outside of …
By Amber Lee; Staff Member (Vol. 15) Despite increased calls for government transparency, the Sixth Circuit gave the federal government the precedent needed to further withhold information from the public. The Sixth Circuit holding in Free Press II states that an individuals interests in avoiding embarrassment or humiliation outweighs the public’s interest in knowing information.
By Jennifer Davis; Staff Member (Vol. 15) Cindy Got “Bamboozled” When Cindy Garcia responded to a casting call for a film titled Desert Warrior, she did not object to delivering two innocuous seeming lines while “sounding concerned.” She probably would not have objected when in 2012, the director Mark Youssef, translated the film into Arabic, …
By Jack Middough; Staff Member (Vol. 15) “What you’re doing right now is illegal,” yelled former infantry Ryan Berk, in parts both enraged and incredulous, “I’ve worn that fucking uniform and I’ve had friends get killed in Afghanistan wearing that fucking uniform.”
