Email from The Institute for Free Speech The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech August 5, 2025 Click here to subscribe to the Daily Media Update. This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected]. In the News Original Jurisdiction: Judicial Notice (08.03.25): Another Judge’s AI Fail? By David Lat Institute for Free Speech (IFS) v. Johnson. In an opinion by Chief Judge Jennifer Elrod, the Fifth Circuit revived part of IFS’s pre-enforcement, First Amendment challenge to a Texas law that would treat its provision of pro bono legal services to candidates and political committees as unlawful “political contributions.” New Hampshire Union Leader: Couple responds to Nashua's claims in flag-flying lawsuit appeal By Paul Feely .....Attorneys for a Nashua couple say the city’s position that private speech becomes the government’s speech when officials have final approval over the messaging “undermines established legal doctrine.” Beth and Stephen Scaer filed a lawsuit against Nashua in U.S. District Court in Concord in 2024, claiming their free speech rights were violated when they were denied permission to fly two different flags -- a pro-life flag and a Pine Tree flag. Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal By John Ross .....Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature written by a bunch of people at the Institute for Justice… At the Institute for Justice, we're fans of both institutes and free speech. So naturally we're good buddies with the folks at the Institute for Free Speech (IFS). And this week, we're tickled pink to see that the Fifth Circuit has revived IFS's challenge to a Texas campaign finance provision that would treat their pro bono legal services to candidates and political committees as illegal corporate political contributions. [Ed.: We tried to warn Texas, but to no avail.] Florida Today: Government bodies grapple with changes to public comment policies around Brevard By Dave Berman and Finch Walker .....In January, Brevard's school board began splitting its public comment section up into two sections: agenda-related comments and non-agenda comments. The move came after a federal judge ruled against the district in a Moms for Liberty-led lawsuit, blocking the board from continuing to implement its public comment policy on the grounds that it limited audience members' freedom of speech. Each comment section provides speakers with a total of three minutes to speak on an issue, and speakers are allowed to speak during both sections. However, only the agenda-related section is filmed, while the non-agenda section takes place at the end of the meeting off-camera. During the filmed portion, speakers are expected to address the board and refrain from using profane language... But Amy Kneessy, a former Brevard School Board member and plaintiff in the lawsuit, was unhappy with the board's decision, calling it a "mistake." New from the Institute for Free Speech Free Speech Arguments – Can Public Universities Censor Faculty Critics? (Lowery v. Mills) .....Lowery v. Mills, argued before Circuit Judges Jerry E. Smith, Dana M. Douglas, and Carolyn Dineen King in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on August 4, 2025. Argued by Institute for Free Speech Senior Attorney Del Kolde on behalf of Prof. Richard Lowery and Jeff Oldham on behalf of the University of Texas at Austin officials. Background of the case [from the Institute for Free Speech case page]: Congress Washington Legal Foundation: There’s No “One Weird Trick” Around the Constitution: Analyzing the Attempts to End DTC Pharma Marketing By Zac Morgan .....Now ensconced in his oversight role at HHS, Secretary Kennedy is reportedly considering executive action “to require greater disclosures of side effects of a drug within each ad—likely making broadcast ads much longer and prohibitively expensive.” Meanwhile, a growing bipartisan coterie of U.S. senators, ranging from Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) to Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), have joined Kennedy’s chorus. Both Hawley and Sanders have introduced their own legislation to, as the gentleman from Missouri candidly put it, “ban prescription drug commercials.”… The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that “business or economic activity” is “entitled to the protection of the First Amendment.” That right includes not just generally “paid advertisement[s] of one form or another,” but the “speech of pharmaceutical marketing.” DTC ads just cannot be banned—even if they “affect[] treatment decisions,” increase demand (and therefore undercut government efforts to control prices), or are merely “‘unpopular, annoying[,] or distasteful.’” FCC The Verge: Brendan Carr declares victory over the First Amendment By Adi Robertson .....On Monday, the Freedom of the Press Foundation filed a complaint against Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr. The filing, sent to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at the DC Court of Appeals, alleges that Carr had repeatedly broken basic principles of conduct as a licensed attorney, including by leveraging his power to control media outlets’ speech. As a legal complaint it’s a long shot — but as a document, it sums up months of Carr’s escalating war on free speech. Free Expression Just the News: Colleges that protect free speech exceed those that 'clearly' don't, first time in 19-year study By Greg Piper .....For the first time in nearly 20 years of evaluating campus speech codes, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression found more schools with policies that "do not seriously imperil free expression" (73) than those that "clearly and substantially restrict free speech" (72) for the 19th edition of its "Spotlight on Speech Codes" released this week. "This marks a substantial improvement" from last year's report "and the reversal of a concerning trend," FIRE said, with the number of schools earning the highest rating jumping by 10 and the number with the worst rating plunging by 26. Candidates and Campaigns The Free Press: The iPhone Update That Could Wreck Political Fundraising By Gabe Kaminsky .....Peer-to-peer is a really easy way to quickly reach people in a cheap manner,” Mike Nellis, a former senior adviser to Harris, told The Free Press. “But it’s actually at the expense of spamming people who don’t sign up for anything and aren’t necessarily interested in hearing from you.” There might be an alternative—and it is already sending shock waves through political operative circles in Washington. In early June, Apple announced a new feature through its forthcoming iOS 26 software that will allow iPhone users to screen messages from “unknown senders.” That will automatically place texts from such senders, starting in mid-September, in a separate folder without notifying the recipients. Could the new iPhone feature finally be the death knell for those unexpected texts you receive from an assortment of politicians clamoring for your wallet? That appears to be the contention of at least one influential Republican group, according to a leaked memo… The Media New York Times: A Tiny Conservative News Outlet Pioneered the Attack on Higher Education By Vimal Patel .....Around the height of the pro-Palestinian campus protests last year, a conservative journalist sent an email to the federal government complaining about Princeton University... Dr. Marschall was not a student himself. In fact, he had never stepped foot on the Princeton campus. Nevertheless, the complaint resulted in a federal investigation. Dr. Marschall, who is Jewish, may be the most prolific filer of antisemitism civil rights complaints to the federal government. He says he has filed 33 against colleges around the country, leading to 16 investigations... Dr. Marschall considers the government’s attention to his complaints another victory for the conservative newspaper he edits, Campus Reform, and its longtime mission to expose what he calls leftist bias and abuse on college campuses around the country. His group, though small, was an early architect of the internet-era conservative attack on higher education. In recent years, the group’s alarmed view of American college campuses has moved from the fringes into the mainstream. The States New York Post: LA City Council bans N-word at public meetings, triggering legal threats By Samantha Olander .....The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to ban the use of the N-word and C-word at public meetings — triggering free speech backlash and the threat of a $400 million lawsuit. The controversial vote by the body allows council leadership to issue a warning for any use or variation of the slurs. Repeat offenders can be booted from the chamber and barred from future sessions. Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who is black and introduced the measure, said the use of slurs during public comments has made residents hesitant to attend meetings. Cincinnati Enquirer: What Cincinnati City Council's Parks gets wrong about viral brawl, free speech By Mark R. Weaver .....Cincinnati City Council President Pro Tem Victoria Parks has a hot take on the First Amendment, and she’s using it to avoid accountability for her despicable Facebook comment about the victims of the recent downtown brawl. Without offering evidence, Parks implied that the victims of this viral incident somehow deserved the brutal assault. "In this country, we have freedom of speech, however, you may not run into a crowded theater and scream fire," she claimed. This was her response to those who called on her to show character and apologize for her previous social media comment that victims of the clash, like Holly, "were begging for it." By claiming that an alleged racial slur somehow excuses violence, Parks has proven that she’s as wrong on the law as she is by refusing to apologize for her original hateful post. As an Ohio attorney who practices First Amendment law, I regularly hear this canard. But not usually from an elected official, who ought to know better. The College Fix: Florida ed. chief recommends sanctions against school board for expelling father from meeting By Dave Huber .....The Florida commissioner of education is recommending a local school district lose funding totaling the salaries of all its board members following the board’s treatment of a father who spoke up at a July 31 meeting. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. For email filters, the subject of this email will always begin with "Institute for Free Speech Media Update." The Institute for Free Speech is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and defends the political rights to free speech, press, assembly, and petition guaranteed by the First Amendment. Please support the Institute's mission by clicking here. For further information, visit www.ifs.org. 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