First Amendment

NRA Corruption Allegations and Gun Policy

April 21, 2021

With an annual spending budget of roughly $250 million, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is a highly influential force in American politics. Established in 1871, the NRA has developed into one of the most influential advocacy organizations in the U.S. and boasts over five million members. Initially founded as a recreational group, the NRA later entered the lobbying realm in 1934, sending mail advertisements to members regarding potential firearms bills. It transformed into a [...]

Mugshots & the Degradation of the Presumption of Innocence

February 26, 2021

What do Johnny Cash, Bill Gates, Al Capone, and Martin Luther King Jr. all have in common? Mugshots. All of these history-defining individuals, for one reason or another, had interactions with the law. However, despite these figures gaining notoriety in spite of their mugshots, for many individuals, this is not the case. In fact, it is quite the opposite. An Overview A mugshot is a photograph taken by a law enforcement agency upon an individual’s arrest to be used in the [...]

Decidedly undecided: the Supreme Court’s silence in the shadows of Obergefell

February 1, 2018

In the confusing wake of the Supreme Court's controversial Obergefell decision, the Court refused to hear a challenge to a Mississippi act enabling certain persons and businesses to refuse to provide services to LGBTQ people based on religious beliefs. [...]

The Second Circuit rerolls the “Stone”

October 12, 2017

An appellate court has re–opened a defamation case against Rolling Stone concerning a 2014 article about campus rape, which may present some difficulties for the magazine owners’ ability to sell. [...]

Equal rights to wedding cake?

September 22, 2017

The Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether the First Amendment protects a baker’s decision to refuse to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. [...]

Trademarking in the Offensive?

August 7, 2017

A recent landmark United States Supreme Court decision involving trademark law has brought a stream of curious applications, raising national concerns. [...]

KKK members travel to Virginia to put First Amendment to the test

July 21, 2017

The First Amendment’s right to free speech is under scrutiny yet again as political views clash in Charlottesville, Virginia. [...]

First amendment right to facebook?—SCOTUS says yes

July 3, 2017

The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled unconstitutional an NC law that made it a felony for registered sex offenders to access social networks websites. [...]

Docs versus Glocks: the decision

March 13, 2017

Doctors in Florida have breathed a sigh of relief in the wake of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision striking down portions of the Florida’s Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act. [...]

Black facing matters?

January 23, 2017

A report commissioned by the University of Oregon surrounding a professor’s Halloween costume at a party, has raised concerns for advocates of the First Amendment. [...]

Exercising your first amendment rights could get you fired, or worse…

September 26, 2016

A Fayetteville teacher is on paid leave and has received death threats after stomping on the American flag during a civics lesson. [...]

Are college campuses restricting free speech?

May 23, 2016

Potential NC legislation could target so-called “hecklers” on college campuses. [...]

Are North Carolina’s homeschooling laws really helping students?

May 9, 2016

The lack of homeschool regulation in North Carolina may mean that the State has inadequate information and data on homeschooled student success. [...]

Hogan’s trial redefines the line between public figure and private citizen

April 4, 2016

Terry Gene Bollea, more commonly known as “Hulk Hogan,” just won a tremendous award from the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of the State of Florida totaling $140 million, and got a pretty crucial ruling – celebrities have substantial privacy rights. [...]

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