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Welcome back! Freedom in the News will be published on Tuesdays during the 2012-2013 school year.

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August 28, 2012

Five Freedoms

New Mo. law on disturbing worship challenged with ACLU lawsuit A federal lawsuit is seeking to block a new Missouri law making it a crime to disturb a worship service.(AP)

Dee Snider to Paul Ryan: Stop playing my song Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has asked Republican vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan’s campaign not to play his hit song, “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”(AP)

Univ. backs off crumb-y handling of dispute with baker The University of Alabama is apologizing to a local baker, who received a letter threatening legal action because some of her hand-decorated cakes and cookies carried university-related images.(AP)

Appeals court upholds block on graphic cigarette warnings A federal appeals court today upheld a decision barring the federal government from requiring tobacco companies to put large, graphic health warnings on cigarette packages to show that smoking can kill and disfigure people.(AP)

'Swift-Boating' Obama? Pentagon denounces politics of attack ad. The US military is pushing back against the campaign of a group of former Special Operations Forces officers who have spoken out against President Obama in what some have described as a latter-day “Swift Boat” campaign.(CSM)

Appeals Court reverses award against Mpls. blogger The Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned a $60,000 award that an outspoken local blogger had been ordered to pay for a post that got a man fired, ruling that John "Johnny Northside" Hoff cannot be found liable for statements that are true and protected under the First Amendment.(Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Gun group sues Honolulu police over Facebook posts Hawaii Defense Foundation filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday for violations of the First Amendment, claiming Honolulu police arbitrarily delete posts and ban those who make comments that are unfavorable to the department on the social media site.(AP)

Veteran detained for Facebook posts released Brandon Raub, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was taken into custody Aug. 16 after being questioned by Chesterfield County police and federal agents about his Facebook posts.(AP) (AP)

Wash. appeals court: Man’s comments to cop were true threat A young man who cursed at a police officer as he was being booked could be charged with felony harassment without violating his First Amendment rights, a Washington state appeals court has ruled. The court determined that the man uttered a true threat — a category of speech not protected by the First Amendment.(FAC)

1st Amendment Case vs. Westfield mayor The case stems from the mayor ordering political signs removed from a property owned by David Costa last November. (WWLP)

Civil rights org. rejects accusation that its rhetoric led to shooting at conservative group Though the shooting was swiftly condemned by groups across the ideological spectrum, it tapped into deep divisions over cultural issues like gay marriage and drew finger-pointing about whether inflamed rhetoric on either side was to blame. (AP)

Bill to counter lawsuits vs. journalists introduced Sen. Jon Kyl, R–Ariz., introduced the Free Press Act of 2012 (S.B. 3493), a measure designed to protect the First Amendment rights of journalists and Internet service providers by giving them a mechanism to combat “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation,” or SLAPPs.(FAC)

Anti-Islam Ads Remixed in San Francisco and New York The ad campaign was devised by Pamela Geller, the crusading anti-Islam blogger who fought to block the construction of an Islamic cultural center and mosque near the site of the World Trade Center two summers ago.(NYT)

National Guard leader draws heat for promoting religious group The head of the Indiana National Guard says he made a video promoting an evangelical Christian group because it helps soldiers who struggle with their marriages after coming home from war.(Indianapolis Star)

Guards immune from claim after removing inmate’s cap Pennsylvania prison officials were entitled to qualified immunity from a religious-liberty claim filed by an inmate after officers removed his kufi (a cap worn for religious purposes) to take his photograph, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.(AP)

White supremacist loses in sentencing appeal An Ohio appeals court has rejected a defendant’s argument that a trial court violated his First Amendment right to freedom of association by considering his membership in a white-supremacist gang before sentencing him.(FAC)

Gov. Jan Brewer's illegal-immigrant order draws many letters In the days after Gov. Jan Brewer ordered state agencies to deny certain undocumented immigrants driver's licenses and state benefits, her office received nearly 2,350 letters, e-mails, faxes and phone calls from people across the nation. (Arizona Republic)

Student Freedoms

University of Kentucky, Louisville flag hundreds of words from athletes' tweets Student-athletes at the University of Kentucky and most at the University of Louisville surrender their online privacy to their coaches under a social media monitoring system used by both schools and others across the country.(Louisville Courier-Journal)

Fla. student gets probation for Obama threats A 21-year-old college student and musician was sentenced yesterday to three years’ probation for posting threats against President Barack Obama on Facebook, a case a federal judge said underscored the perils of impulsive Internet use.(AP)

High school valedictorian denied diploma over graduation speech Kaitlin Nootbaar graduated from Prague High School with a 4.0 grade point average, her father, David Nootbaar, told KFOR-TV. But school administrators told him that Kaitlin would have to submit a written apology in order to get her diploma.(Yahoo News)

Fight over Univ. of Ga. newspaper appears to be resolved The fight over a student-run newspaper at the University of Georgia appeared to be resolved late last week, after the paper’s board of directors apologized in the wake of an online campaign launched by a group of student journalists who aired concerns over editorial control.(AP)

'We're not picking on the South,' Freedom From Religion group says On Aug. 21, Ridgeland High School's administration received a letter calling for an investigation into several alleged football team religious activities. Those included church-sponsored meals before games, at least one of which included a sermon.(Chattanooga Times Free Press )

The Struggle Continues

Justice Dept. sets up civil rights unit in Ala., after state crackdown on illegal immigration Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Perez said the unit will ensure that the federal government has a continuing eye on civil rights issues in Alabama, which was a hotbed of unrest during the civil rights movement half a century ago. (WP)

Court allows 'show me your papers' laws in Alabama, Georgia A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that Alabama and Georgia could enforce key aspects of their laws against illegal immigration that allow police to check the status of criminal suspects.(Reuters)

Court rules Texas can ban Planned Parenthood from health program A federal court has ruled in favor of Texas, which wants to ban state funding for Planned Parenthood affiliates participating in a health program for low-income women because the family planning network performs abortions.(CNN)

California Supreme Court overturns Santa Clara County death sentence The California Supreme Court on Monday reversed a Santa Clara County double murderer's death sentence, finding that the prosecution's failure to turn over key evidence tainted his 1987 trial.(San Jose Mercury News)

Op-ed: Taking on Harvard in a wheelchair When I entered Harvard College as a freshman in 1980, it happened to coincide with a new requirement -- all institutions receiving federal funds had to become fully accessible under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. I was a 17-year-old lifelong wheelchair-user, born with a neurological condition called spinal muscular atrophy. (CNN)

SC voter ID law on trial as federal court considers impact on minority voters, state’s history The federal trial over South Carolina’s voter identification law got under way Monday with a state senator insisting his work on the law was aimed at fighting fraud and instilling public confidence in the election system. (AP)

Colo. won’t reveal suspected ineligible voters Citing an ongoing investigation, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler said Aug. 21 he would not allow public inspection of the list of nearly 4,000 registered voters he suspects are ineligible to vote because they’re not citizens.(AP)

Romney opening up, a little, about his Mormon religion Mitt Romney is the first Mormon presidential nominee of a major political party, and highlighting his faith carries risks, given that many Americans view the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints skeptically.(AP)

Vt. inn, 2 women settle gay-marriage lawsuit The ACLU said Ming Linsley and Kate Linsley contacted the civil rights organization after Ming’s mother was told by the inn’s events manager that the inn didn’t host “gay receptions” because of the innkeepers’ “personal feelings.”(AP)

Illinois Concealed Carry Ban Not Enforced In McLean County Despite a statewide ban on concealed weapons, gun owners in one central Illinois county don't need to worry about facing charges because its top prosecutor is refusing to enforce a law he considers unconstitutional.(AP)

Call to Stiffen Laws Worries Town Built by Guns While elsewhere the debate over gun control includes talk of balancing constitutional rights with public safety, here residents are most concerned with a little-discussed element of the gun industry: economics.(NYT)

Op-ed: U.N. Arms Trade Treaty: A threat to the 2nd amendment? Negotiations at a United Nations conference over a proposed Arms Trade Treaty, which would regulate conventional arms sales across borders, ended in July without a report. The talks will likely resume, however, and many are concerned about the treaty’s implications for the Second Amendment.(HC)

Justice and the Courts

Most Americans Can’t Name a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Survey Says The most well-known member of the court was Chief Justice John Roberts, the survey showed. But even Justice Roberts could only be named by 20% of the respondents.(Reuters)

U.S. Supreme Court urged to reconsider restriction on public records access The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and other government transparency advocates are preparing a document urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider a provision of Virginia’s public records law preventing non-citizens from obtaining public agencies’ records.(The Tennessean)

RI gov asks US Supreme Court to review inmate case The petition filed by Chafee’s attorneys seeks to appeal a U.S. Court of Appeals decision that Jason Pleau may stand trial in federal court, where prosecutors say they intend to seek the death penalty. Rhode Island does not have the death penalty and Chafee has sought to prevent Pleau from being prosecuted in federal court.(AP)

NY leads 14 states urging US Supreme Court to back university’s affirmative action policy The court is scheduled to hear arguments Oct. 10 in a lawsuit by Abigail Fisher, a white student who was not admitted to the University of Texas in 2008. Fisher is challenging the university’s admissions policy as a violation of her civil and constitutional rights. (AP)

This Day in History

On August 28, 1963, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom takes place. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of a crowd of about 250,000 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. (History.com)

Source Abbreviations:

AP: Associated Press; BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation; BG: Boston Globe; BS: Baltimore Sun; BW: Business Week; CR: Chicago Reader; CSM: Christian Science Monitor; CST: Chicago Sun-Times; CT: Chicago Tribune; DH: Daily Herald; DMN: Dallas Morning DP: Denver Post; Drudge Report; EP: Editor & Publisher; FAC: First Amendment Center; HC: Houston Chronicle; HP: Huffington Post; IHT: International Herald Tribune; LAT: Los Angeles Times; MH: Miami Herald; MJS: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; NW: Newsweek; NYT: New York Times; PI: Philadelphia Inquirer; PEIJ: Project for Excellence in Journalism; RCP: Real Clear Politics; SC: San Francisco Chronicle; SJR: State Journal-Register; SLPD: St. Louis Post-Dispatch; SPI: Seattle Post-Intelligencer; SPLC: Student Press Law Center; SPT: St. Petersburg Times; ST: Seattle Times; TH: Townhall.com; UNWP: U.S. News and World Report; USA: USA Today; WP: Washington Post; WSJ: Wall Street Journal; WT: Washington Times.

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