Jun 26 Supreme Court rules in favor of Missouri church in playground case By Mark Sherman and Sam Hananel, Associated Press The Supreme Court ruled Monday that churches have the same right as other charitable groups to seek state money for new playground surfaces and other non-religious needs. Continue reading
May 08 Watch 7:43 Explaining Trump’s travel ban appeals court arguments By PBS News Hour President Trump's travel ban got its first federal appeals court review today, marking the biggest test yet for the revised executive order to suspend travel to the U.S. for people from six majority-Muslim countries. Marcia Coyle of The National Law… Continue watching
Apr 23 UC Berkeley reschedules Ann Coulter talk — and raises thorny legal question By Kamala Kelkar A legal brouhaha at the University of California, Berkeley over rescheduling Ann Coulter’s speech shines a spotlight on an unanswered First Amendment question. Continue reading
Apr 19 Watch 5:05 Should states fund repairs at church schools? By PBS News Hour After Missouri officials rejected the use of public funds to repair a church playground, Trinity Lutheran Church sued the state. The case now sits before the U.S. Supreme Court, and the proceedings offer a glimpse into the early behavior of… Continue watching
Mar 27 Data on border searches of personal electronics sought in lawsuit against Trump administration By Jack Gillum, Associated Press A group of First Amendment attorneys sued the Trump administration on Monday over access to data showing how often U.S. citizens and visitors had their electronic devices searched and the contents catalogued at American border crossings. Continue reading
Mar 05 Man on death row punished after appearing in Netflix show ‘Captive’ By Kamala Kelkar Soon after Netflix aired an episode about one of the country’s deadliest prison uprisings, Ohio corrections revoked the email and phone privileges of a man on death row for appearing in it. Continue reading
Nov 22 Trump disavows alt-right in New York Times interview By Dan Cooney, Kristen Doerer President-elect Donald Trump disavowed the alt-right in an on-the-record interview with the New York Times on Tuesday. He also responded to questions about the possibility of prosecuting Hillary Clinton, his commitment to the First Amendment, his plans for Syria, and… Continue reading
Feb 27 Trump threatens to weaken First Amendment protections for reporters By Jeff Horwitz, Associated Press Feeling maligned by the media, Donald Trump is threatening to weaken First Amendment protections for reporters if he were president and make it easier for him to sue them. Continue reading
Jan 11 High court seems skeptical of mandatory public union fees By Sam Hananel, Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday appeared ready to deal a major blow to organized labor as it considers the free speech rights of government workers who say they shouldn't be forced to pay fees to public sector unions. Continue reading
Dec 31 How federal law draws a line between free speech and hate crimes By Eric Tucker, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Incendiary rhetoric has seeped into 2016 presidential politics, surfaced in the public debate over accepting Syrian refugees into the U.S. and popped up repeatedly following terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Continue reading