Court overturns conviction of landlord who threatened to post sex tape on Facebook
By Chris Morran From Consumerist If you go on Facebook and threaten to post a sex tape featuring a public official, is that a threat or is it free speech protected by the First Amendment? The highest court in Georgia…
Supreme Court Protesters Take First Amendment Challenge to Court
By Zoe Tillman, From Legal Times Lawyer Jeffrey Light argues high court “harangue” and “loud” language ban violates First Amendment. Can a whisper be disruptive? When does speech become loud? A federal district judge in Washington considered those questions on…
Orrick defends decisions in clash over planned parenthood videos
By Ross Todd, From The Recorder SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge is defending his handling of a clash between abortion-rights advocates and opponents over the hidden-camera videos that ignited a firestorm around Planned Parenthood. In an unusual filing with…
Judge: It’s not nice to leave nasty notes on speeding tickets, but it’s your constitutional right to do so
By Mary Beth Quirk From Consumerist No one gets a speeding ticket and rushes out to pay it with glee, at least, no one who likes holding onto their money. But even if it’s pretty rude to scrawl an obscene…
When justices talk about the Pope
By Marcia Coyle, from The National Law Journal A search of oral argument transcripts reveals “pope” references in 11 cases from the past 60 years. Talk show hosts, politicians, Catholics, wary commuters—everyone’s talking about Pope Francis’ visit to the United…
Circuit says Facebook posts were properly used as evidence
By Mark Hamblett, From New York Law Journal Introducing a rap video and images of tattoos from a defendant’s Facebook page as evidence in a drug-and-murder gang prosecution did not violate the rights of the accused, a federal appeals court…
North Carolina abortion ultrasound rule violates first amendment, court says
By Mike Sacks, From The National Law Journal A federal appeals court Monday struck down a key provision of North Carolina’s abortion regulations as a violation of doctors’ First Amendment right to free speech. “Abortion may well be a special…
Uniform rules issued on electronic devices in courtrooms [USA]
By Mary Pat Gallagher, From New Jersey Law Journal Lawyers and others who want to tap away at their smartphones and tablets while in court will be able to do so under newly issued guidelines from the New Jersey Supreme…
Boies Schiller confronts Media on Sony data breach
By Nathalie Pierrepont, From The Am Law Daily Sony Pictures Entertainment has hired Boies, Schiller & Flexner to clamp down on media companies that have republished confidential—and at times embarrassing—information leaked about the company through a hacker. But its efforts…
[US] High Court weighs online speech protections
By Tony Mauro, From Supreme Court Brief In their latest foray into new media, several U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared ready to consider angry Facebook rants as a form of expression that should be protected by the First…
