Outside the Beltway

Freedom of speech means freedom for all speech, even when it is racially offensive.

An entirely unsurprising decision from Federal Prosecutors in Washington, D.C.

Not surprisingly, the F.C.C. has rejected a petition to ban the word “Redskins” from the airwaves.

The families of many of the Sandy Hook victims are seeking to have the manufacturer of the AR-15 held legally responsible for what happened. While understandable, their lawsuit is misplaced and largely without legal merit.

Sony is warning the press not to publish material leaked by hackers, but it doesn’t have much of a legal leg to stand on.

An utter journalistic failure from Rolling Stone.

After a disastrous campaign in 2012, Texas Governor Rick Perry appears to be gearing up for a new run for the White House in 2016, but questions remain.

The City of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho will not force two Christian ministers to open their wedding chapel business to same-sex wedding ceremonies.

A collision between marriage equality and religious liberty, but it seems clear that religious liberty should win this one.

A not surprising outcome to a move that have had motives entirely unconnected to litigation.

Someone needs to remind the City of Houston that the First Amendment applies to them.

The F.C.C. will be considering a petition to ban the word “Redskins” from the airwaves.

Could John Hinckley, Jr. face murder charges 30 years after his attempted assassination of President Reagan?

There’s been far too much hysteria and hyperbole when it comes to ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws.

Another solid victory for the First Amendment from the Roberts Court.

A committee of journalists who work in the “traditional” media has once again denied press credentials to SCOTUSBlog.

However you feel about the Redskins name, the decision to retroactively repeal their trademarks is troubling on many levels.

A hopeful First Amendment decision from the Supreme Court.

An appeal declined, but an issue that remains outstanding.

On the day that news broke that Ezra Klein and Wonkblog are leaving the Washington Post, the Volokh Conspiracy made its debut there.

A case out of New Mexico presents an interesting collision of First Amendment rights and anti-discrimination values.

Robert Farley takes a shot across the bow at the academy from the pages of one of his field’s most prestigious journals.

The case of an infant with a rare genetic condition raises an interesting ethical dilemma.

Sacrificing our principles in the face of mob violence is never a good idea.

President Obama’s remarks before the United Nations were, at least in one particular part, disappointing.

The latest round of the Chick-fil-A controversy is perhaps the most absurd yet.

A Federal case in Virginia is testing the boundaries of what constitutes protected speech in the digital age.

A Kafkaesque legal proceeding is unfolding in Kentucky.

With the Supreme Court’s decision imminent, many supporters of the PPACA are starting to second guess the Obama Administration’s legal strategy.

A bill that may become law in Arizona could make your Internet comments a crime.

Good Journalism?

Rush Limbaugh may be a jerk, but he has a right to be a jerk.

Why should lying about having served in combat or been awarded a medal for valor should be legally different from lying about athletic prowess in high school, the number of sexual partners you’ve had, or the size of one’s sex organs?

A new set of proposed Constitutional Amendments reveals that many people still don’t understand what Citizens United was about.

Ten Muslim students were found guilty on misdemeanor conspiracy charges for their “plot” to shout down the Israeli ambassador during a speech at UC Irvine.

A case pending in Maryland raises the question of when boorish online behavior crosses the line from protected speech to criminal act.

Does a family court have the authority to tell a parent to delete a blog critical of his ex-wife?

What constitutes a true threat?

The star of a controversial reality show about polygamy is suing to have Utah’s law that makes his living arrangement illegal struck down.

In a decision released yesterday. the New Jersey Supreme Court clarified the journalist/blogger distinction somewhat.

When you look at it a little more closely, the Texas cheerleader case looks to be a case of bad lawyering.

A Huffington Post contributor who had no expectation of being paid for his contributions is suing HuffPo for $105 million.