Book People, Inc. v. Wong
The U.S. District Court issued an injunction on a Texas law that would require publishers and booksellers to assign ratings to certain books, which would they then be barred from selling to school libraries.
Category: Litigation
Fayetteville Public Library v. Crawford County, Arkansas
The U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction blocking a law that would require booksellers and librarians to limit their books appropriate to all minors only or exclude all minors from their premises. Another provision on the law allows any person in Arkansas to demand the removal of a book that the person deems inappropriate.
In Re: A Court of Mist and Fury, In Re: Gender Queer
A Virginia judge dismissed the obscenity case against the books A Court of Mist and Fury and Gender Queer, finding that the law was unconstitutional as prior restraint, that it had insufficient knowledge requirement, and there was insufficient notice.
Missouri State Conference of NAACP v. Wentzville School District
Some members of Media Coalition filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, in support of an ACLU and NAACP challenge to the removal of books from school libraries in the Wentzville School District. The brief argued that the books did not fit the definition of “harmful to minors.”
NetChoice v. Paxton
Media Coalition Foundation signed an amicus brief urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the district court finding that the Texas law on social media censorship is unconstitutional.
NetChoice v. Attorney General, Florida
Media Coalition Foundation signed an amicus brief submitted in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that a Florida law that bars the removal, labeling, hiding speech, or suspending of accounts on certain social media websites of candidates for elected office or on certain “journalistic enterprises.”
Porco v. Lifetime
The New York appellate court dismissed the appeal, finding that even though the film was a dramatization that made changes to certain aspects of the story, it still addressed matters of public interest and acknowledged that it was a blend of fact and fiction; therefore, it was exempt from the right of publicity claim.
Minnesota v. Casillas
Some members of Media Coalition and other organizations filed an amicus brief in the Minnesota Supreme Court urging the court to uphold the decision of the Minnesota appellate court striking down the state’s law barring the distribution of certain images without consent.
Austin v. Illinois
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari seeking review of the Illinois Supreme Court ruling upholding the state’s law making it a crime to distribute nude images of a person if the publisher knew or should have known that the person in the image did not consent to the publication.
Ex Parte Jordan Bartlett Jones
Media Coalition Foundation filed an amicus brief urging Texas’ highest court to strike down a state law that bars the distribution of certain images without the consent of the person in the image.
Nieves v. Bartlett
The Supreme Court held that to prevail on a retaliatory arrest claim, the plaintiff must show that the official acted with a retaliatory motive and the act was a “but-for” cause of the Constitutional injury.
Higginbotham v. City of New York
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed Higginbotham’s First Amendment retaliation lawsuit against police officers who arrested him when he was filming an Occupy Wall Street arrest.
Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach
In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court held that under the circumstances of Lozman’s case, the existence of probable cause does not bar Lozman’s First Amendment retaliation claim.
Prison Legal News v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections
2018 Summary On October 11, 2018, Media Coalition Foundation and the Authors Guild joined an amicus brief signed by 28 other organizations that favor freedom of the press and oppose censorship. The brief asks the United States...
Lohan v. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. / Gravano v. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
Plaintiffs Lohan and Gravano argued to rewrite New York Civil Rights Law Section 51 to include protections against the inclusion of “image,” “persona,” or “likeness” in any work for which a creator or publisher seeks compensation.
Tobinick v. Novella
Dr. Edward Tobinick sued Dr. Steven Novella, a professor at Yale University Medical School, for criticizing his unusual medical treatments that he provides at his clinics in Florida and California. In a blog post on his website “Science Based Medicine,” Novella called Tobinick’s clinic, the Institute of Neurological Recovery, a “quack clinic.” Novella also took issue that Tobinick used the anti-inflammatory drug Enbrel to treat Alzheimer’s disease, as reported by an article in the Los Angeles Times.
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Wasden
Media Coalition Foundation joined an amicus brief urging the Ninth Circuit to uphold the lower court’s ruling that Idaho’s “ag-gag” law is unconstitutional.
Garden District Book Shop v. Stewart
Media Coalition brought a lawsuit on behalf of some of its members and Louisiana booksellers and publishers challenging a law that required websites to age-verify every internet user before providing access to material that could be deemed “harmful to minors.”
Antigone Books v. Brnovich
The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona permanently ordered state prosecutors to halt enforcement of a law that criminalizes the distribution of a nude photo without the consent of the person depicted. The order approved a joint final settlement between the parties.
Prison Legal News v. Kane
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania struck down a Pennsylvania law that allowed victims to stop conduct — including speech — by a convicted offender if it causes “mental anguish.”
City of Littleton, Colorado v. Z. J. Gifts D-4, L.L.C.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Littleton, Colorado ordinance that does not provide a prompt judicial determination for adult licensing decisions.
Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus
In 2014, the Supreme Court unanimously held that “a credible threat of enforcement” is a sufficient threat of injury to establish standing in a First Amendment case when bringing a “pre-enforcement” challenge.
677 New Loudon Corporation v. New York Tax Appeals Tribunal
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of certiorari, concerning whether a state may discriminate in taxation among First Amendment-protected materials based on the perceived value of their content.
Tattered Cover, Inc. v. Brohl
The U.S. District Court struck down a Colorado law restricting the display of magazines whose focus is marijuana or the marijuana business.
United States v. Alvarez
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Stolen Valor Act, which made it a crime for any person to falsely represent that he or she had been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces.
