The California Lawyers Association has raised concerns about recent federal immigration enforcement practices, which it says may violate constitutional protections and civil liberties, and has called for courts and oversight institutions to ensure independent review of such actions.
An appellate panel in California upheld a judge’s ruling that a social-media journalist’s posts were political commentary and protected by the First Amendment, rejecting a city councilmember’s attempt to silence him through the court system.
Don Lemon, a former CNN anchor, was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles for allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act while covering a protest, in what press freedom advocates and courts have called an unprecedented effort to criminalize routine newsgathering.
Public universities may lawfully regulate certain forms of speech when a reasonable member of the campus community could construe that expression as a disruptive threat, but this standard has been inconsistently applied and widely misunderstood.
The Trump administration is demanding that universities take greater action to protect Jewish community members, placing federal funding at risk while reviving unresolved constitutional disputes over campus speech, and critics argue that these demands are extortionate and may be unconstitutional under rulings issued by conservative federal appellate courts.
The ACLU has filed a brief in support of The New York Times’ lawsuit against the Department of Defense, arguing that the new press policy is an unconstitutional attack on free expression and democratic accountability.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Ohio State University from disenrolling a student over political speech, ruling that the school likely violated the student’s First Amendment and due process rights.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to rescind media protections led to an FBI raid on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home, which journalist Lauren Harper argued was an unnecessary action based on a sham pretext and part of the Trump administration’s war on press freedom.
A Yolo County Superior Court judge dismissed criminal charges against Marissa Barrera, ruling that the prosecutors failed to identify speech that could overcome constitutional protections under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and failed to meet the statutory requirements of California Penal Code section 653.2.
Two journalists are challenging a Puerto Rican law that threatens press freedom by attempting to ban misinformation, arguing that it violates the First Amendment and could be used to silence dissent.
Suzanne Nossel’s book Dare to Speak argues that free speech should be defended for all, and that the erosion of support for it is weakening democratic norms and deepening mistrust, while also providing a framework for evaluating speech harms and advocating for counterspeech as a primary response to hate.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and other civil rights organizations are demanding that Texas State University reinstate the Black History 101 Mobile Museum exhibition, which was canceled due to a misapplication of state law and a violation of the First Amendment.
Eighteen multifaith and nonreligious families filed a federal class action lawsuit to stop more than 1,000 Texas public school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms, arguing that it violates constitutional protections.
The Trump administration is expanding ICE’s surveillance powers to target American citizens who criticize or protest the agency, using social media monitoring technologies, location data, and cell phone hacking contracts, which civil liberties advocates warn is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
Physicians for Human Rights has filed an amicus brief in the L.A. Press Club v. Kristi Noem case, arguing that U.S. federal law enforcement repeatedly misused rubber bullets, pepper balls, tear gas canisters and flash-bang grenades against journalists, medics and peaceful demonstrators during protests in Los Angeles in the summer of 2025.
The ACLU of Northern California successfully challenged a DHS subpoena seeking to unmask anonymous Instagram users who posted videos of ICE raids in Los Angeles, protecting the First Amendment rights of those documenting law enforcement activity in public.
The ACLU has filed a FOIA request to uncover how the DHS is attempting to suppress the First Amendment right to record their agents, and how widespread the retaliatory pattern is.
The ACLU has filed a FOIA request to obtain records related to the Department of Homeland Security’s policies and practices regarding the filming of law enforcement activity, following reports of intimidation and violence against those documenting immigration enforcement in public spaces.
The California Supreme Court ruled that Los Angeles City’s enforcement of Penal Code section 148.6(a), which criminalized knowingly false complaints against peace officers, violates the First Amendment because it chills protected speech and disproportionately targets criticism of police.
The Trump administration is facing accusations of using federal agencies for political retaliation and violating constitutional protections after British Muslim journalist Sami Hamdi was detained by U.S. authorities at San Francisco International Airport.