First Amendment

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore The Associated Press’ access to areas open to the White House press pool, holding the government can’t bar select journalists from certain areas because of their viewpoints.... Read More

WASHINGTON — George Lehner, longtime counsel to the White House Correspondents’ Association, was awarded the organization’s President’s Award for Exceptional Service this week, ahead of his retirement from its board in July. Lehner, a tireless champion of the First Amendment... Read More

WASHINGTON — A coalition of media outlets, ranging from CNN, CBS News and Politico to C-SPAN, The Washington Post and Court TV, have filed a motion in federal court requesting audio and video access to former President Donald Trump’s upcoming... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the First Amendment bars the state of Colorado from forcing a designer to create websites conveying messages that go against her evangelical Christian beliefs. Writing for the majority in the 6-3 decision,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., this week refused to allow a series of restrictions on the political activity of some judicial workers. The court’s ruling said the two workers who sued to block the restrictions... Read More

WASHINGTON — Social media companies scored a huge win late Tuesday after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to temporarily block a Texas law that would have barred them from taking action on hate speech and disinformation. NetChoice v. Paxton... Read More

WASHINGTON — A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that Boston violated the free speech rights of a conservative activist by refusing to comply with his request to fly a Christian flag on a flagpole outside City Hall, while allowing other... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed to favor a high school coach who claimed a constitutional right to pray on the 50-yard line after football games during oral arguments Monday. His school district administrators in Bremerton, Washington, disagreed.... Read More

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a Pennsylvania school district violated the First Amendment by punishing a student over a vulgar social-media rant sent away from school grounds. The vote was 8 to 1, with Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting.... Read More

(This is the fourth and final part of a four-part series. The first three parts can be read here, here and here.) The First Amendment Prevails The Supreme Court’s decision in the Pentagon Papers case, officially, New York Times Co.... Read More

(This is the third part of a four-part series. The first and second installments can be read here and here.) White House Makes Its Move Ultimately, the decision to seek prior restraint -- an injunction prohibiting The Times from publishing... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Only about 200 demonstrators made good on their pledge to protest the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden on Wednesday. This time, there was no large-scale protest of the election like the one that drew thousands to Washington on... Read More

WASHINGTON - Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., told the Federalist Society in a keynote address Thursday night the coronavirus pandemic has led to "previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty." "I am not diminishing the severity of the virus's threat to... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. - Religious groups and a wedding photographer are suing the state of Virginia over a new law that bans discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender persons. The law is directed primarily against discrimination in employment, housing and public... Read More