The Twitter micro-blogging service is just like the bulletin boards that Colonial Americans might have had in their front yards to communicate with one another at the time the Bill of Rights was adopted, said a federal district court judge in United States v. Cassidy, No. TWT 11-091 (D. Md. Dec. 15, 2011). The court… Continue Reading
Category Archives: First Amendment
Subscribe to First Amendment RSS FeedNo “Internet Exceptionalism” For the Second Circuit in Attorney Advertising Ethics Ruling
Posted in First Amendment, Internet"Internet exceptionalism" is the notion that the Internet is a special and unique communications medium to which special rules should apply. In the legal field, that notion is manifested in legal rules that have been crafted by judges, legislatures and regulators for application in situations involving Internet communications. In some cases the creation of an… Continue Reading
Truth is the Best Defense, They Say – But Maybe Not in Massachusetts
Posted in First AmendmentThe above maxim is so often repeated that it is taken as true in all cases. But chapter 231, section 92 of the Massachusetts General Laws says otherwise, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Noonan v. Staples, No. 07-2159 (1st Cir. Feb. 13, 2009), rehearing and rehearing en banc… Continue Reading
Will Congress Move to Protect U.S. Speech from Foreign Lawsuits?
Posted in First AmendmentWith the rough and tumble of the debate over the stimulus legislation starting to wind down, Congress is starting to turn to other subjects. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held hearings yesterday on “libel tourism,” the filing of libel lawsuits against U.S. defendants in libel-plaintiff friendly countries such as the U.K…. Continue Reading