Participated in an amicus brief (with other amici) filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Nieves v. Bartlett. The case deals with the question of whether the existence of probable cause defeats a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim as a matter of law. The brief notes that where arrests of journalists are motivated by [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with other amici) filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court in Larson v. Gannett Co., Inc. The brief argues that the Court should affirm the court of appeals decision that the fair report privilege applies to news coverage of official press releases and official press conferences. A decision to paraphrase [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with other amici) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in National Rifle Association v. Bondi. This case questions whether civil litigants challenging the constitutionality of a state statute may do so anonymously because they fear harassment. The brief argues that permitting pseudonymous plaintiffs impinges [...]
By InsideRadio, insideradio.com, 9-19-18 A sweeping update to federal music licensing law, including changes that could impact how much radio pays to songwriters in the future, cleared a significant hurdle late Tuesday. In a unanimous voice vote, the Senate approved the Music Modernization Act (S. 2823) leading to a chorus of celebration in the music [...]
Chris Wallace of ‘FOX News Sunday’ and Cathy Hughes of Urban One To Be Honored FOR RELEASE: September 17, 2018 Contact: Richard T. Kaplar The Media Institute 703-243-5700 Arlington, Va., September 17, 2018 – Two distinguished individuals from the worlds of media and academia will present awards at The Media Institute’s “Free Speech America” Gala [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with other amici) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Rudkin v. Beasley Imports, Inc. The brief argues that a Texas anti-SLAPP statute should be applied in federal court for two reasons: (1) It would foster and protect the exercise of First Amendment freedoms [...]
By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Devlin Barrett, and Brian Fung, washingtonpost.com, 9-5-18 The Justice Department warned on Wednesday that leading technology companies may be “intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas” and hurting competition, an ominous development for an industry already under fire from Capitol Hill, President Trump and a range of conservative critics. The [...]
By Brian Fung, washingtonpost.com, 8-31-18 California lawmakers rallied enough votes Friday to pass the nation’s toughest net neutrality law to prevent Internet providers from favoring certain websites, setting up a fight with federal regulators who voted last year to erase such rules. If Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs the law in the coming weeks, California [...]
By Darlene Superville and Barbara Ortutay, AP, washingtonpost.com, 8-29-18 WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is accusing Google and other U.S. tech companies of rigging search results about him “so that almost all stories & news is BAD” – and though he is offering no evidence, a top adviser says the White House is “taking a [...]
Filed an amicus brief (with other amici) with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Perry v. Hollingsworth. The brief asks the court to uphold the most recent decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that the videotape recordings of its 2010 bench trial over the [...]