Free Speech Roundup: Week of Feb. 25th, 2018

A summary of the top free speech related news and events from the past week. Freedom of speech is the right from which all other human rights follow because it allows people to address grievances and protest for their other rights. It is therefore of the utmost importance to protect the right to express oneself freely from those who seek to restrict it.

This week we have news on Supreme Court hearings, a new legal organization, a rapper's arrest, and a lawsuit settlement.

Supreme Court Hears Case of Free Speech Rights and Police Powers of Arrest

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/a-florida-provocateur-has-his-day-before-the-supreme-court--again/2018/02/25/925c9c26-1595-11e8-8b08-027a6ccb38eb_story.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article202445309.html
The case of Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach reached the Supreme Court on Tuesday after a legal battle spanning over a decade. In 2006, Fane Lozman was arrested shortly into his public comments at a Riviera Beach city commission meeting for speaking about Palm Beach County corruption. The video of the incident is available on YouTube. The issue at stake is the national standard for probable cause and retaliatory arrests. The reactions of the justices to arguments during the initial hearing seemed to go in Lozman's favor. Lozman won a previous case against Riviera Beach in the Supreme Court in 2013 for the seizure and destruction of his houseboat.

Supreme Court Hears Case on Public-Sector Union Fees

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rule-power-public-employee-unions-n850851
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-unions/conservative-supreme-court-justices-take-aim-at-union-fees-idUSKCN1GA1VB
The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday for the case of Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The issue is whether public-sector employees who are not union members should be forced to pay union fees. The fees are meant to cover the costs of collective bargaining for wages, hours, and work conditions from which all employees benefit. The plaintiff, Mark Janus, claims that the fees violate his right to freedom of association due to the political activism of the union. The court is divided sharply along party lines on the issue, with the recent addition of conservative justice Neil Gorsuch likely to result in a ruling against the unions.

Supreme Court Hears Case of Polling Place Political Apparel

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/28/584606124/polling-place-battleground-freedom-of-speech-versus-freedom-from-intimidation
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky. At issue is a Minnesota statue which forbids any sort of political apparel inside of polling places. All states have laws limiting campaigning at polls to prevent voter intimidation, but the Minnesota law is even stricter. Andrew Cilek and the Minnesota Voters Alliance sued after he was asked to cover up his T-shirt and button, saying his First Amendment rights were violated. The justices argued over where the line should be drawn between decorum and free speech at a polling place and questioned whether the law extended too far.

A New Legal Organization for the Protection of Student Free Speech Rights

https://reason.com/blog/2018/03/01/speech-first-campus-students
Speech First, launched this week, is a membership-based legal organization for students, faculty, parents, alumni, and concerned citizens. It's goal is to protect the rights to free expression of students on college campuses. It seeks to connect students to a national support network of likeminded individuals. The organization will take on lawsuits against universities who have violated student free speech rights.

Rapper Arrested for School Shooter Song

http://wxxinews.org/post/free-speech-or-terroristic-threat-local-rapper-jailed-song
Rochester, New York rapper Randy Ross was arrested on charges of terroristic threats for a music video posted to YouTube of his song "School Shooter." The obscenity-laced song references shooting one student at the school. It is a question of whether the song should be considered a threat or free speech. Music, as artistic work, has more free speech protection than normal speech.

School District Settles Free Speech Lawsuit

http://www.startribune.com/edina-minn-school-district-settles-free-speech-lawsuit/475703153/
The Edina School District in Minnesota settled a lawsuit by five students for violating their First Amendment rights by wrongfully disbanding the Young Conservatives Club. The district denies refusing to sponsor or disbanding the club, but has since approved it. The controversy started when messages about other students were made public. The club members had been objecting to other students protesting the national anthem. The district will revise its school club guidelines to provide greater protection of expressions of free speech.

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
~ First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States