Category: First Amendment

Supreme Court Justice Thomas Suggests Suing Media for Defamation Should Be Less Difficult

It should be easier to sue media organizations for defamation, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said on June 27 as he dissented from the court’s decision not to take up a defamation case. Former President Donald Trump has also said the legal bar is currently set too high in media defamation lawsuits. Thomas’s comments came…


Supreme Court Rules in Favor of High School Football Coach Fired for Post-Game Prayers

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 27 that a school district in Washington state violated First Amendment religious freedom protections when it fired high school football coach Joseph Kennedy for leading personal prayers at the 50-yard line after games. The decision is regarded as a victory for religious freedom. In the case, the high…


Student Slapped With ‘No Contact Order’ by University for Speaking Christian Values in Class Discussions

It’s part of the whole college experience. Eager young minds, animated in discussion, engaging in robust classroom debate. It got lively, boisterous — even explosive at times — as bright pupils with great expectations shared, tested, and contested ideas about the world. This was the university, the crucible of learning, the engine of ideas. How…


GOPers See Big Win for Religious Freedom If House Keeps ‘Charitable Choice’ in Fed Grants

First Amendment religious freedom advocates cheered on June 21 when the Supreme Court struck down a Maine law denying faith-based school funding options to parents who see public education failing their children. Another such big win could come on June 22 in the House of Representatives. The occasion is the House taking up H.R. 7666,…


Supreme Court Strikes Down Maine’s Ban on Funding for Religious Schools

The Supreme Court voted 6–3 to strike down as unconstitutional a Maine law that excludes families from a student aid program if they choose to send their children to religious schools, in a decision released June 21. The ruling is a defeat for the Biden administration, which supported Maine’s position. Under the program, school districts…


Supreme Court Strikes Down Maine Tuition-Assistance Program for Religious Discrimination

The Supreme Court voted 6–3 to strike down as unconstitutional a Maine law that excludes families from a student aid program if they choose to send their children to religious schools, in a decision released June 21. The ruling is a defeat for the Biden administration, which supported Maine’s position. Under the program, school districts…


SEC Climate Proposal Violates First Amendment to Constitution: Law Professor

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) proposed rules to mandate climate-related disclosures from companies abridge freedom of speech and would “create controversy by imposing a political viewpoint,” a law professor asserted in a June 1 letter to the agency. “It’s almost as though the three commissioners who pushed this rule forward don’t take seriously their…


EXCLUSIVE: Expect ‘More Censorship’ of Conservative Voices as Midterms Approach, Says Former Trump Counsel

Arizona’s front-running Republican gubernatorial candidate, Kari Lake, has found her recent interview with talk show host Jenna Ellis taken down by YouTube on the grounds that it contains “misinformation” about the 2020 election. “Content that advances the false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches changed the outcome of the U.S. 2020 presidential election is…


Capitol Report (May 19): Manchin Pushes Back on Biden Energy Policy; Dr. Carol Swain on Buffalo Shooting

Under mounting pressure over soaring gas prices, House Democrats passed a bill to punish oil and gas producers for alleged price gouging. But Larry Summers, a top Democratic economic adviser, says this move will have no impact on lowering prices, and could even make the situation worse. The unprecedented baby formula crisis is still ongoing….


Colorado Graphic Designer Fears for Her Life as Religious Freedom Case Heads to Supreme Court

Lorie Smith left the corporate world in 2012 to form her own website design firm, 303 Creative, which soon flourished. But in 2016 she was asked to create a design conveying a message about marriage that flatly violated her deeply held Christian faith. Smith declined. The requester complained to Colorado authorities, who made clear that…