Category: Free Speech

Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Rage Against The Machine

Submitted By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Has the Emperor of Gotcha' Been Got?

Britain’s largest weekly tabloid, News of the World,  closes today, but not from lack of advertisers or readers. Instead, the Rupert Murdoch led tabloid succumbed to its own excesses amid shocking allegations of  interceptions of cellphone voice mails of the families of a murdered 13-year-old girl, servicemen and women slain in Afghanistan, and victims of  the 2005 London terrorist bombings.  Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator who worked for News of the World,  is accused of the electronic hacking.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion, Society, Torts

Egyptian Telecom Mogul Attacked By Islamic Leaders Over Cartoon of Mickey Mouse With Beard

Egyptian telecom businessman Naguib Sawiris is being sued in various lawsuits for “religious contempt” because of a simple cartoon showing Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie Mouse with a veil. Sawiris is a Christian secularist and was making a joke. However, an Islamic group called the Salafis has led a campaign against him for insulting Islam and demands for prosecution.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Supreme Court Upholds Free Speech in the Violent Video Game Case

In a major victory for the first amendment, the Supreme Court ruled that a California law regulating the sale of violent video games is unconstitutional. It was a strong 7-2 vote with only Justice Clarence Thomas and and Stepen Breyer dissenting — an odd couple to be sure from both ends of the ideological spectrum. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion.

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Free Speech, International, Religion

Amsterdam Court Acquits Geert Wilders of Hate Speech

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

We have previously discussed the case of Geert Wilders, here, who was accused of inciting hatred with his anti-Islamic diatribes. In an unusual move, the prosecution team had asked for an acquittal. Wilders has advocated outlawing the Koran in the Netherlands, like Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. He also referred to Mohammed as “the devil.”

Wilder’s right of free expression has been upheld, the same right of free expression he wants to deny to Muslims.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Society

Designer Galliano On Trial For Bad Language

We have been following the case of fashion designer John Galliano who went on trial Wednesday for making anti-Semitic comments in Paris. It is part of the growing trend in the West of the criminalization of speech. It is not clear what came off more pathetic yesterday, the drug-wasted Galliano or the French court.
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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Court Rules Against School in Disciplining of Teens For MySpace Parody

We have been following the trend against free speech rights of students and the disciplining of students for speech outside of school. This includes the opinion in Doninger v. Niehoff with then Judge Sotomayor. Now, the Third Circuit has handed down a major victory for free speech in rejecting a parody on MySpace as the basis to discipline two teenagers in Pennsylvania. The case is J.S. v. Blue Ridge Mountain School District, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 11947 (June 13, 2011).
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Bizarre, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion

Syrian Lesbian Advocate Amina Abdallah Is Alive And Well . . . And Living As A Man In Georgia

For over a week, an international campaign has grown — with growing media coverage from CNN, NPR, and other outlets — to support Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari, a self-described 35-year-old lesbian who had been abducted in Syria after blogging about her life and dreams. The American-born Amina’s disappearance led to the creation of websites and set off demands for governmental inquiries and sanctions. She has now been found alive and well . . . and a man from Georgia with a rather twisted view of advocacy and integrity. Tom MacMaster, 40, a graduate student has now admitted that there is no Amina, no abduction, and only a very pathetic story about a man from Georgia.
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, Justice, Religion, Society

Will Free Speech Have To Make A Bus Stop In Arkansas?

Submitted By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

The Central Arkansas Coalition of Reason has a First Amendment problem. When the coalition of atheists, agnostics, and skeptics attempted to place advertising on Little Rock transit buses, they were met with an unusual demand. In order to place $5,000.00 worth of advertising, the Central Arkansas Transit Authority (CATA) required them to purchase insurance against angry Christians in the amount of $36,000.00. The policy was needed said the bus company’s ad agency, On The Move Advertising, because a handful of similar ads had been vandalized in other states.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics

Tennessee Makes Posting Images A Crime If They Are Viewed As Distressful To Third Parties

Tennessee legislators have passed an extraordinary law that makes it a crime to “transmit or display an image” online that is likely to “frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress” to someone who sees it. Violations can get you almost a year in jail time or up to $2500 in fines. The law, in my view, is unconstitutional and a direct threat to free speech.
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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, Politics, Society

New Mexico Billboard Triggers Fight Between Privacy and Free Speech

There is an interesting free speech case out of Otero County, New Mexico. Hearing commissioner Darrell Brantley of the Otero County Domestic Violence Court has recommended an order of protection for Nani Lawrence against Greg A. Fultz after Fultz paid for a pro-life billboard criticizing the abortion of their alleged child. Brantley also wants the billboard taken down as a violation of Lawrence’s right of privacy.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

The Jolly Hangman Finds Another Victim: Singapore Judges Jail English Writer For Criticizing Their Court System

A British author Alan Shadrake, 76, is the latest victim of a worldwide trend of attacks on free speech. Shadrake wrote a book entitled Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore’s Justice in the Dock detailing the inequities and unfairness of the Singapore justice system. The response of Singapore’s courts was to convict Shadrake and throw him in jail for contempt. The abusive case should be a rallying point for civil libertarians around the world, not to mention any Singaporeans who value free speech and the rule of law. The Singapore government compounded the abuse by banning the book.

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