Independence Day commemorates the legal separation of the original thirteen colonies from Great Britain. The actual separation occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve The Resolution for Independency (aka the ... [Read more...]
50 Years Ago, the Supreme Court Struck Down Laws Banning Interracial Marriage
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia. The Court’s opinion, issued June 12, 1967, struck down the anti-miscegenation laws remaining in 16 U.S. states. Anti-miscegenation laws prohibited ... [Read more...]
Kathy Griffin and the Question of When Symbolic Speech Crosses the Legal Line
Last week, comedian Kathy Griffin sparked outrage when she posed for a photo with a fake, bloody head resembling President Trump. Griffin later apologized and stated that the image “crossed the line.” But many on social media are arguing that an ... [Read more...]
COMMENTARY: Fetal Homicide Laws & Legal Abortion – The Common Denominator
In March, a Texas Court of Appeals issued its decision in Sanders v. State of Texas. In that case, Sanders was convicted of killing Angela Alex and her unborn child. He was convicted based on a Texas law that prohibits intentionally causing the death ... [Read more...]
COLUMN: The Law in Real Life: Should Images of Animal Cruelty Be Protected Under the First Amendment?
COLUMN: The Law in Real Life Should Images of Animal Cruelty Be Protected Under the First Amendment? With the high-profile arrest and conviction of the NFL's Michael Vick, more people than ever are aware of the illegality of dogfighting. And ... [Read more...]
Should Images of Animal Cruelty Be Protected Under the First Amendment?
With the high-profile arrest and conviction of the NFL's Michael Vick, more people than ever are aware of the illegality of dogfighting. And now, the issue is coming before the United States Supreme Court...sort of. Robert Stevens isn't at the ... [Read more...]
COLUMN: The Law in Real Life: Case on FCC Fines for Fleeting Expletives Shows Court’s Antiquated View of Evolving Language
COLUMN: The Law in Real Life Case on FCC Fines for Fleeting Expletives Shows Court's Antiquated View of Evolving Language It used to be that an isolated "bad word" might simply get your mouth washed out with soap. But after U2 lead singer Bono ... [Read more...]
Case on FCC Fines for Fleeting Expletives Shows Court’s Antiquated View of Evolving Language
It used to be that an isolated “bad word” might simply get your mouth washed out with soap. But after U2 lead singer Bono referred to an award as “fucking brilliant” in 2003, ripples from the case made it all the way to the Supreme Court this ... [Read more...]
Florida Decision Rejects False Light Claims, but Media Gains Are Uncertain
Can a true story place a person in a false light? Until last week, the state of Florida had never clearly decided whether to recognize a cause of action called “false light invasion of privacy.” For potential defendants like newspapers, false light ... [Read more...]
Drafting Mistake in Marijuana Law Creates Problems for Georgia Court
Judges don’t get up in the morning to fix legislative mistakes. They’ll take their best shot at what the word “reasonable” means in a particular context, but for the most part, you can’t ask them to pretend, for example, that the word “more” is the ... [Read more...]