Right of assembly allows citizens to form a more perfect union
p>The First Amendment’s right for all of us “peaceably to assemble” has fueled some of the sharpest conflicts — occasionally violent — in the nation’s history. From early public opposition to...
View ArticleCourt: no free-association right to smoke in private club
Members of a private club do not have a First Amendment free-association right to smoke in their club, the Alaska Supreme Court has ruled. The state’s high court ruled that a city smoking ban regulates...
View ArticleCalif. high court rejects white-supremacist inmate’s challenge
A California trial court did not violate the First Amendment when it allowed prosecutors to introduce evidence of an inmate’s white-supremacist beliefs during his death-penalty trial, the state supreme...
View ArticleAriz. court strikes down Phoenix panhandling law
A Phoenix ordinance prohibiting all panhandling after dark violates the First Amendment, an Arizona appeals court has ruled. The appeals court reasoned that the law was not narrowly drawn enough to...
View ArticleNo First Amendment right to attend cockfights, court rules
Individuals have no First Amendment free-assembly or free-association right to attend cockfights, a Connecticut appeals court has ruled. The court reasoned that the state had a rational reason to...
View ArticleFuneral privacy not same as at home, 8th Circuit rules
Privacy rights at a funeral don’t rise to the same level as privacy rights at a home. That rationale drove a recent 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel decision that prevented enforcement of a...
View Article75 years ago, high court ruling protected peaceful assembly
Seventy-five years ago — on Jan. 4, 1937 — a significant milestone for freedom of assembly was achieved. On this date the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in De Jonge v. Oregon that state government officials...
View ArticleIdaho high court upholds gang-recruiting law
A provision of Idaho’s Criminal Gang Enforcement Act that prohibits gang members from recruiting others does not violate freedom of association, the state high court has ruled. The Idaho Legislature...
View ArticleCalif. appeals court objects to no-gangs parole condition
Courts, particularly in California, often impose gang-related probation conditions on criminal defendants to prevent future gang activity. Such restrictions tend to prohibit defendants from associating...
View ArticleRecognizing a civil rights landmark
Fifty years ago today — Jan. 14, 1963 — the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a Virginia law that was being used to quash the work of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, ruling...
View ArticleQualified immunity protects Secret Service agents
A recent unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of two Secret Service agents shows the power of the qualified-immunity doctrine. The high court ruled in Wood v. Moss that the agents were...
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