Free speech wins 8-1. The reasons for my joy are pretty clearly laid out here in a prior post on the case.
The Government contends that “historical evidence” about the reach of the First Amendment is not “a necessary prerequisite for regulation today,” Reply Brief 12, n. 8, and that categories of speech [...]
Awooooga – U.S. V. Stevens Affirmed
Apr 20th, 2010 by Christopher Harbin posted in The Legal Satyricon
by Christopher Harbin
The Supreme Court affirmed the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in U.S. v. Stevens, 8-1. Big Free Speech Victory today. Prior coverage from Randazza here and here.
We’ll update later after we’ve dissected the opinion.
Filed under: First Amendment 
Reason 1313 that Flori-duh needs an anti-SLAPP law – the tale of emiller1313
Apr 13th, 2010 by marcorandazza posted in The Legal Satyricon
Michael Steadman bought a time clock from eBay seller emiller1313 for $44. He says that the ad for the clock said that it was in good working condition, but that when it arrived, it was not as the seller represented it.
“it was not what it was supposed to be. It sounded [...]
Garcetti v. Ceballos potentially subsumes public employees’ First Amendment rights
Mar 30th, 2010 by J DeVoy posted in The Legal Satyricon
By J. DeVoy
Public employees in political jobs often walk a difficult line when they speak about current affairs. Historically, this speech was protected by the Pickering-Connick test, established in Pickering v. Board of Education of Township High School District, 391 U.S. 563 (1968), and Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 (1983). Under that test, courts [...]
What I wish I had written about Newdow v. Rio Linda Unified School District
Mar 18th, 2010 by marcorandazza posted in The Legal Satyricon
For those of you who didn’t notice last week, two judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals wiped their asses with the Constitution, presumably because their unethical and spineless souls have been eaten by their imaginary friends. Honestly, this case is about as disingenuous as Bush v. Gore or Dred Scott v. Sandford. [...]
Ninth Circuit denies 1st Amendment protections to brothel advertisements
Mar 17th, 2010 by J DeVoy posted in The Legal Satyricon
By J. DeVoy
Last week, the Ninth Circuit ruled in Coyote Publishing Inc. v. Nevada that Nevada’s restrictions on brothel advertising are lawful, holding that the state has an interest in regulating commoditized sex. This decision overturned the U.S. District Court of Nevada’s decision, which held that such regulations were unconstitutionally overreached pure commercial speech, and [...]
Westboro Baptist Church gets its day in front of the Supreme Court
Mar 8th, 2010 by marcorandazza posted in The Legal Satyricon
Cert. granted in Snyder v. Phelps. Regular readers already know that I reluctantly side with Westboro on this one.
Filed under: First Amendment 
Sunstein calls for “cognitive infiltration” of dissident groups
Mar 7th, 2010 by marcorandazza posted in The Legal Satyricon
Cass Sunstein, drunk with his little thimbleful of power he got by being given a job in the Obama administration is really letting his statist colors show through. Sunstein takes a page out of the Bush administration’s playbook and suggests that the government should engage in “cognitive infiltration” of disfavored political groups. (source)
Cass [...]
If I were president, hands down, this cat would be my first choice if a Supreme Court seat opened up. I don’t agree with him on all issues (far from it) but he’s principled, intelligent, and consistent.
Filed under: Academics, Civil Liberties, First Amendment, political correctness 
By Christopher Harbin
Starting at 11am EST, we will be live blogging the oral augments in ISC v. Marshall. WordPress doesn’t support iframes (the bastards), so you’ll have to watch it in a popup.
Click Here
Filed under: First Amendment, First Amendment Bad Ass 
IOC Uses DMCA to Suppress Luge Accident Video
Feb 17th, 2010 by jfischer1975 posted in The Legal Satyricon
by Jason Fischer
The opening day of the 2010 Winter Olympics was marked with tragedy when 21-year-old Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was involved in a fatal crash during a training run. The horrific event dampened the spirit of the international competition and colored the mood at the opening ceremonies later that night. As anyone [...]
Massachusetts libel case upholds Fair Report privilege
Jan 30th, 2010 by J DeVoy posted in The Legal Satyricon
By J. DeVoy
The trial court’s opinion in Howell v. Enterprise was affirmed by Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court earlier this month, reaffirming the special protection journalists have when reporting on difficult cases. The Media Law blog offered its analysis of the case and its significance when the decision was released:
The opinion in Howell v. Enterprise dismisses a defamation [...]
Meshuggenah lawsuit tossed out on its tuchus
Jan 8th, 2010 by marcorandazza posted in The Legal Satyricon
The plaintiff in this case belonged to a cult that has a practice of placing men on a “shun list” in order to convince them to give their wives a divorce. The cult’s newspaper published the husband’s name on its “shun list,” but one of its newspaper reporters mixed up whether it was a [...]
A New Jersey plaintiff sued the local democratic party for circulating flyers that mentioned the opposing candidate’s criminal record. The plaintiff was under the impression that the flyers were defamatory, because his record had been expunged.
Firstamendmentpwned.
“These flyers are, as a matter of law, not defamatory because the information contained in them is [...]
Even I wouldn’t take these “First Amendment” cases
Jan 8th, 2010 by marcorandazza posted in The Legal Satyricon
It certainly annoys me when I see others’ First Amendment rights being abused. However, it is almost as annoying when I hear people wank about how their First Amendment rights are being trampled upon, and there is just no such thing going on.
Take this asshat, for example. According to reports, he [...]
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