NEWSFLASH!!

Happy Wintry Monday! Hope all that are affected by the snow are safe and warm!! Here is the latest First Amendment news to check out while you sip your hot cocoa!

Lawyers for WikiLeaks asked a federal judge on Friday, December 7th, to dismiss a Democratic National Committee lawsuit over the anti-secrecy group’s publication of party data during the 2016 presidential election, citing its constitutional rights.

In a First Amendment dispute that has drawn attention from a wide range of groups, Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office this week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to turn down an appeal by a magazine that has been blocked from distribution to Florida prison inmates.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday, December 4th, struck down a portion of federal law that makes it a crime to encourage illegal immigration, ruling that the statute violates the First Amendment.

A federal judge has ordered Kentucky’s governor to turn over screenshots of social media accounts he has blocked. Two Kentucky residents with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union have sued Bevin, arguing he violated their First Amendment rights by blocking them on social media.

After the UNC Board of Trustees proposed installing the Silent Same statute in a building on campus, opponents to this plan have taken to the streets to protest.

The U.S. Supreme Court sent back a case challenging a nearly 30-year-old precedent allowing mandatory bar membership. Arnold Fleck, a North Dakota lawyer, says the requirement violates his First Amendment rights. He asked the court to overturn a nearly 30-year-old precedent holding otherwise.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk lost his position as Board Chairman after conflict with the SEC. A new Board Chairman will be appointed and he/she will hire two individual board members as well as oversee Musk’s Tesla-related Tweets. “The only tweets that would have to be, say, reviewed”, would be if a tweet had a probability of causing a movement in the stock,” Musk explained, “Otherwise it’s ‘Hello, First Amendment’. Freedom of speech is fundamental.”