Novotny v. Tripp County (MLW No. 63098/Case No. 10-3811 – 9 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Shepherd, J.)

Tagged with: civil rights First Amendment free speech Shepherd Standing

A federal judge says a Missouri state law barring protests at funerals is unconstitutional. In a 19-page ruling on Monday, Chief U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. said the law violates the Westboro Baptist Church’s rights to free speech. State ...

Tagged with: Fernando Gaitan Jr. free speech funeral protests Westboro Baptist Church

A federal judge says a Missouri state law that bars protests at funerals is unconstitutional. In a 19-page ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. said the law violates the Westboro Baptist Church’s right to free speech. State lawmakers ...

Tagged with: Fernando Gaitan Jr. free speech funeral protests Westboro Baptist Church

A federal judge says a Missouri state law that bars protests at funerals is unconstitutional. In a 19-page ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. said the law violates the Westboro Baptist Church’s right to free speech. State lawmakers ...

Tagged with: Fernando Gaitan Jr. free speech funeral protests Westboro Baptist Church

A group of residents opposed to a planned development in north St. Louis have taken their case to federal court, with a twist. Litigation is already under way in two different state-level courts challenging both the method by which city ...

Tagged with: ACLU American Civil Liberties Union First Amendment free speech lawsuit U.S. District Court in St. Louis

“Survivor” star Richard Hatch may have tamed the jungles of Borneo and won $1 million in 2000, but he has experienced many setbacks since. The greatest was failing to report his winnings on his income tax return. In 2006, a ...

Tagged with: due process free speech Tax Evasion

McPhetridge, et al. v. IBEW, Local Union No. 53 (MLW No. 59587/Case No. 08-2803 – 8 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Loken, C.J.) Where plaintiffs, who were union workers disciplined by their union, brought an action in federal ...

Tagged with: Exhaustion Of Remedies free speech

Lori Drew could end up with a three-year prison sentence for her role in a teenager’s suicide. And the legal tentacles of her case could reach people as disparate as young Google users, angry corporate executives and St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa. Drew was convicted under a novel application of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a law previously used largely to prosecute computer hackers. The application in this case could become a boon for prosecutors — and a nightmare for privacy and free-speech advocates.

Tagged with: free speech George Wu Lori Drew Tony La Russa

Tim Kniest walked away with $150,000. But still unresolved is a legal question on the rights of employees of government contractors. Kniest and the state reached a settlement in his lawsuit alleging he was booted off a government contract because ...

Tagged with: First Amendment free speech lawsuit tortious interference Wrongful Discharge

The U.S. Supreme Court revived a government attempt to fine broadcasters for isolated expletives on live television while hinting that the crackdown ultimately might be voided on free-speech grounds. Voting 5-4 along ideological lines, the high court said the Federal ...

Tagged with: FCC free speech U.S. Supreme Court

Eighth Circuit finds approval process to be unconstitutional 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: Constitutional First Amendment – Specialty License Plates – Viewpoint Discrimination Where an anti-abortion group whose application for Missouri specialty license plates was rejected by the state ...

Tagged with: First Amendment free speech unconstitutional