Category Archives: First Amendment

Satanists Win Right to Put Up "Hell" Display by Nativity Scene at Florida Capitol
http://www.undergroundworldnews.com Florida agreed Thursday to let the Satanic Temple put up a holiday display at the Capitol, effectively putting to end a First Amendment lawsuit being filed...

By: Dahboo777

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Satanists Win Right to Put Up "Hell" Display by Nativity Scene at Florida Capitol - Video

Published December 04, 2014

This photo, provided by FIRE, shows Citrus College student Vincenzo Sinapi-Riddle.

A California community college has settled a lawsuit with a student who claimed it violated his First Amendment rights when an administrator threatened him for collecting petition signatures outside of a small, designated "free speech zone."

Student Vincenzo Sinapi-Riddle, with help from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, sued Glendora, Calif., Citrus College after the incident, which occurred on Sept. 17, 2013 - the day designated as "Constitution Day." Sinapi-Riddle was collecting signatures for a petition condemning the federal National Security Agency's domestic surveillance activities. When he left the area for a lunch break and headed to the student center, he and another student discussed the petition, prompting an administrator to intervene, according to FIRE. Claiming that a political discussion could not take place outside of the free speech zone, the unidentified school employee threatened to eject Sinapi-Riddle from campus for violating the policy.

- Greg Lukianoff, FIRE

I feel that free speech and the ability to express oneself freely is a very important right for all students, said Sinapi-Riddle.

After a suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the school agreed to pay Sinapi-Riddle $110,000 in damages and attorneys' fees, as well as to revise its free speech policies. In a statement, the school noted the settlement figure was far less than the anticipated cost of fighting the lawsuit and defended its policies as in compliance "with a long line of U.S. Supreme Court cases relating to speech activities in public places, including college campuses." But the school affirmed its support for free speech and agreed to change some campus regulations.

"Freedom of expression is crucial in the higher education community, and the District and its Board of Trustees have done much to protect and advance this cherished right," the statement read. "As part of the settlement, the District will be implementing new procedures that will expand its current free speech area to include most open spaces on campus, enhance the Districts co-curricular program by streamlining internal procedures that apply to activities of recognized student clubs and organizations, and help to ensure the safety and security of students involved in such activities."

FIRE President Greg Lukianoff said his group had taken on Citrus College before, and reached a similar agreement, only to have the school go back to the old policy.

"Citrus College agreed to eliminate its restrictive 'free speech zone' in the face of a FIRE lawsuit back in 2003, but later reinstated its speech quarantine when it thought no one was watching," FIRE President Greg Lukianoff said in a statement on the group's website. "But FIRE was watching, and well continue to do so. If the speech codes come back again, so will we."

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FIRST AMENDMENT FIGHT Calif. college settles suit with student over petition

First Amendment Challenge- Hellgert Almontes
1forAllus #Matador5 You have to record yourself reciting the First Amendment while multitasking and nominate someone you know.

By: SGHSTheMatadorOnline

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First Amendment Challenge- Hellgert Almontes - Video

YouTube: Home Of First Amendment
I use my voice to talk about anything.

By: KevinTPham

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YouTube: Home Of First Amendment - Video

Supreme Court May Protect Facebook Rants Under First Amendment
Supreme Court May Protect Facebook Rants Under First Amendment.

By: Cardimino

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Supreme Court May Protect Facebook Rants Under First Amendment - Video

Day 37 First Amendment

By: Greg Brousek

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Day 37 First Amendment - Video

LAPD Trampling Rights - Tom Zebra Assaulted Arrest
Chief Beck is lying to the public through main stream media about LAPD (pretending) to respect the First Amendment, but his officers on the street are sending an entirely different message.

By: Tom Zebra

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LAPD Trampling Rights - Tom Zebra Assaulted & Arrest - Video

A pair of University of Hawaii at Hilo students is claiming a victory for free speech after the school agreed Tuesday to settle a First Amendment lawsuit filed in April.

Merritt Burch and Anthony Vizzone sued the university after an administrator stopped Burch from passing out copies of the U.S. Constitution and another told them to restrict a protest of the National Security Agency to a free speech zone on campus.

In line with the settlement, the university revised its speech policies systemwide to allow free speech and the distribution of literature in all areas generally available to students and the community without requiring that students seek permission first. UH also agreed to pay $50,000 in attorneys fees and damages. It also creates a dispute resolution process for students who think their First Amendment rights have been violated.

The students filed the suit with the help of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) as part of its Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project.

Im so happy that the University of Hawaii has revised its policies, and Im grateful for the help from FIRE and our attorneys, Burch said. Now, students across the University of Hawaii system can exercise their First Amendment rights without fear that they will be disciplined.

Her co-plaintiff agreed.

It is great to see these changes and to know that we can express ourselves freely throughout campus, Vizzone said.

In a press release issued Tuesday morning, FIRE President Greg Lukianoff praised the students for standing up to the university system.

The lawsuit led to a constructive conversation with UH, and today President David Lassner has set an example by implementing policies that guarantee free speech to the 59,000 students enrolled in the UH system, he said.

In an emailed press release issued Tuesday afternoon, the UH system confirmed settling the federal lawsuit, saying it expects the case to be dismissed with prejudice in the next several weeks, meaning it cannot be re-filed.

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UH settles First Amendment suit

Boy, the St. Louis police really know how to cool things down, don't they? They've taken a controversial protest by a handful of football players, and mixed it with a whiff of bullying authority and a profound misunderstanding of the First Amendment, to create a bigger and more heated argument than it had to be.

Sound familiar?

Five pass catchers for the St. Louis Rams raised their hands in a don't shoot gesture during their on-field introductions Sunday, in a sign of solidarity with protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, where a grand jury refused to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.

An infuriated spokesman for the St. Louis Police Officers Association, Jeff Roorda, called the display unthinkable, and has demanded the NFL discipline Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Chris Givens, Kenny Britt and Jared Cook for making their feelings known so publicly. But Roorda didn't stop there. He added a veiled suggestion that the only thing protecting the Rams and the NFL from mob violence at games is the cops.

And then he said:

I know that there are those who say that these players are simply exercising their First Amendment rights. Well, I've got news for people who think that way. Cops have First Amendment rights, too, and we plan to exercise ours.

Set aside for a moment the vaguely threatening tone of the I've got news for people who think that way statement. What's even more disturbing about Roorda's remarks is that he clearly doesn't know what the First Amendment says, though he is a former cop and member of the Missouri House of Representatives.

Whatever you may think about the Rams players, their gesture is a good excuse to sort out some First Amendment issues. What right did those players have to speak, and what right does the NFL or the police have to tell them to shut up?

The First Amendment protects free speech only against government action. That's all it does. It doesn't protect the St. Louis players from NFL owners, or league commissioners or talk-radio hosts who disagree with them. But it does protect them from the government. So the person in danger of abusing the First Amendment here is not the football player with the edgy gesture in a public stadium. Or the NFL owner who might want to tell them to shut up to protect advertising. It's the governmental agent like, say, a cop who seeks to punish someone for expressing certain views. Like it or not, private corporations or entities have the right to restrict speech of employees, and they do it all the time.

Typically an employer can, says Ken Paulson, president of the First Amendment Center. You have no guarantee of free speech rights in the workplace, and if you think otherwise, try marching on your boss's office and demanding a raise.

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Note to police: Rams gesture was free speech

TEXAS CITIZENS PARTICIPATION ACT, ANTI-SLAPP LAWS, AND FREE SPEECH IN THE LONE STAR STATE
DEAR MR. MONITRONICS ATTORNEY - THIS VIDEO IS PROTECTED SPEECH. CHECK FIRST AMENDMENT. *** AFTER MUCH CONSIDERATION, I HAVE DECIDED NOT TO BEND AND FOLD ...

By: Vonve

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TEXAS CITIZENS PARTICIPATION ACT, ANTI-SLAPP LAWS, AND FREE SPEECH IN THE LONE STAR STATE - Video