August 29, 2024

The Courts

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): State Bar's Ideological Statement May Violate First Amendment Rights of Dissenting Members, If It Purports to Speak for Lawyers Generally

By Eugene Volokh

.....From Ninth Circuit Judge Michelle Friedland's opinion today in Crowe v. Oregon State Bar, joined by Judge John Owens and District Judge William Orrick:

Courthouse News: Michigan attorney lacks standing to bring First Amendment claim over court recordings, Sixth Circuit rules

By Joe Harris

.....A Sixth Circuit on Wednesday ruled 2-1 that a Michigan attorney lacks standing to bring a First Amendment claim regarding the recording of livestreamed court proceedings.

Nicholas Somberg claimed in a July 2020 lawsuit filed against Jessica R. Cooper, the Prosecuting Attorney of Oakland County, Michigan that he had a First Amendment right to record and photograph publicly livestreamed court proceedings regarding matters of public concern after being held in contempt for doing so.

The appeals court disagreed and found that Somberg couldn’t show causation and redressability.

FEC

Spectrum News: FEC delays consideration of crackdown on AI in political campaigns

By Maddie Gannon

.....The Federal Election Commission will push back any potential action on a petition that seeks to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence to deceive people in political campaigns until its meeting in mid-September, Chairman Sean J. Cooksey and Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum said in a statement on Wednesday. 

The delay comes after a group of lawmakers this week sent a letter to the FEC urging it to back the petition from advocacy group Public Citizen, which requests that the Commission start the process to clarify that AI cannot be used to deliberately mislead people in campaign communications. 

In the statement shared with Spectrum News, Cooksey and Lindenbaum note that the item was set to be considered at the Commission’s open meeting on Thursday after being pushed back from the Aug. 15 meeting.

“This item will be held over again, however, at Commissioner Lindenbaum’s request,” the statement reads. “This additional time is necessary in order for us to continue to work together on a consensus resolution to this matter.”

NLRB

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Participating in Black Lives Matter Protest Isn't Protected by Federal Labor Law

By Eugene Volokh

.....Federal labor law limits employers' ability to fire employees for "engag[ing] in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection." (It also limits unions' ability to discipline members for their speech on union matters.) But, unlike the laws in some states, it doesn't protect employees' broader political activities. The question then arises: What kinds of concerted activities are for purposes of employees' "mutual aid or protection"?

Online Speech Platforms

Wall Street Journal: European Censorship, Elon Musk and the Telegram Arrest

By The Editorial Board

.....Conservatives in the U.S. are rallying around Mr. Durov. “Liberté Liberté! Liberté?” Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted. Chris Pavlovski, CEO of the right-wing video platform Rumble, said the arrest “crossed a red line.” French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed claims that Mr. Durov is being politically targeted, but the government has offered few details about the reasons for his arrest.

Telegram’s largely hands-off approach to moderating content has made it popular among terrorists as well as genuine political dissidents. Journalists use the app to communicate with sources, though terrorist groups and authoritarian governments also use it to spread propaganda, as Russia has in Ukraine.

Paris prosecutors say Mr. Durov was detained in relation to an investigation into criminal activity on the platform, including child pornography, drug trafficking, money laundering and its refusal to cooperate with law enforcement. Those are serious offenses if true.

But many suspect this is merely a pretext because Europe is also imposing speech controls on other media platforms. 

Candidates and Campaigns

The Atlantic: Seven Questions That Should Be Easy for Harris to Answer

By Conor Friedersdorf

.....David Daleiden is an anti-abortion activist. In 2015, he pretended to be a representative of a fetal-tissue-procurement company and met with Planned Parenthood, and later released surreptitiously taken videos to show those staffers discussing the sale of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood says the videos were misleadingly edited. On July 31, 2015, the National Abortion Federation filed a lawsuit claiming that Daleiden violated privacy laws when taking the videos. As AG, you opened a criminal investigation. Daleiden was indicted by your successor. In a lawsuit, Daleiden says that he was targeted for prosecution because Planned Parenthood is an ideological ally that has given you campaign contributions.

Undercover videos are sometimes used by journalists and activists on the right and the left. The people taking the videos argue that doing so is in the public interest and that they are exposing misconduct. Do you favor or oppose laws that make it unlawful for journalists and activists to surreptitiously capture video and release it to the public? How do you propose ensuring that such laws are enforced in an evenhanded manner?

The States

Washington Post: California AI bill passes State Assembly, pushing AI fight to Newsom

By Gerrit De Vynck and Cat Zakrzewski

.....The California State Assembly passed a bill Wednesday that would enact the nation’s strictest regulations on artificial intelligence companies, pushing the fierce fight over how to regulate AI toward Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

ABC News: Nevada state official found guilty of killing journalist who exposed corruption in his office

By Julia Reinstein

.....A former Nevada politician was found guilty Wednesday of killing journalist Jeff German in September 2022...

Prosecutors said former Clark County public administrator Robert Telles, 47, stabbed the Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter to death after German exposed corruption in his office, destroying both his political career and his marriage. German's story detailed an allegedly hostile work environment in Telles' office -- including bullying, retaliation and an "inappropriate relationship" between Telles and a staffer -- all of which Telles denied.