David Kravets reports: A California appeals court has overturned a Los Angeles judge’s order that prohibited the Los Angeles Times from publishing a photo of a quadruple murder defendant. “We conclude the superior court’s order precluding publication of photographs lawfully taken unconstitutionally violates the prohibition against prior restraint of speech,” (.pdf) the 2nd District Court…
Category: Court
New YorK State’s new end-run approach to compiling DNA database
Michael Virtanen reports: Local prosecutors in New York are being urged to collect DNA samples as part of plea bargains in all misdemeanor cases after a bill that would have required the record keeping got stuck in the Legislature. The state has data on genetic material from about 365,000 criminals convicted of felonies or at…
Second England footballer wins gagging order
In England, your privacy rights seem to be a function of how much privacy you can afford to pay a lawyer for. Matthew Moore reports: A second footballer has obtained a gagging order to prevent the reporting of details about his private life. The super-injunction granted by Mr Justice Nicol in the High Court on…
Westboro Baptist Church wins another round in court
You may despise their message, but the First Amendment continues to trump people’s wishes to be free of hateful speech near a funeral. Joe Harris reports: A federal judge has ruled that a Missouri law restricting protests at or near military funerals is unconstitutional. The state enacted the law in 2006 in response to protests…