August 22, 2025

Ed. note: The Daily Media Update will return September 2.

Supreme Court

Election Law Blog: Federal Government Files Supreme Court Brief in NRSC Case Arguing That an Aspect of Federal Campaign Finance Law Violates the First Amendment

By Rick Hasen

.....You can find the government’s brief on the merits here. You can find the brief of the Republican Party making similar arguments here. Because the government has taken the unusual position in attacking the constitutionality of a law passed by Congress, the Court appointed an amicus to argue in favor of the law’s constitutionality. The Democratic Party also intervened to defend the law. Their briefs will be filed later.

The Courts

Courthouse News: New York ban on ‘independence’ in party names upheld at Second Circuit

By Nina Pullano 

.....In a win for New York's elections board, and a loss for New York City mayoral candidate Jim Walden, the Second Circuit on Thursday upheld a state law banning the words “independence” and “independent” from ballot lines.

Walden, who's running as an independent in the November race, challenged the law preventing him from naming his political party the "Independence Party." He appealed after a federal judge upheld the law in April, but saw the same outcome at the circuit.

"We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for a preliminary injunction," U.S. Circuit Judge Eunice C. Lee, a Joe Biden appointee, wrote in Thursday's panel ruling.

The legislation at issue, sponsored by state Senator James Skoufis and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, was intended to address confusion among voters who intend to be independents, or unaffiliated with any party.

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Cancellation of DEI-Related Grants Likely Violates First Amendment, Ninth Circuit Holds

By Eugene Volokh

.....Today's Ninth Circuit decision in Thakur v. Trump (Judge Morgan B. Christen, joined by Judges Richard A. Paez and Roopali H. Desai) denied a stay pending appeal of a district court preliminary injunction that blocked the cancellation of certain research grants. In the process, the court concluded that the cancellation likely violated the First Amendment:

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Court Strikes Down W.Va. "Doxing" Law Banning Publishing Home Addresses and Phone Numbers of Certain Officials

By Eugene Volokh

.....From Judge Michael Urbanski (W.D. Va.) Monday in Jackson v. Whitepages, Inc. (N.D. W. Va.) (emphasis added):

Wall Street Journal: Journalist Says His Detention Is Retaliation for Reporting on ICE

By Victoria Albert

.....A Georgia-based journalist arrested by local police while covering a “No Kings” protest in June has sued the Trump administration, alleging his continuing detention is retaliation for his reporting on immigration-enforcement actions.

Local police detained Mario Guevara, a Salvadoran national and Spanish-language reporter, on criminal charges that include unlawful assembly and obstruction of an officer. Officials later dropped the charges. 

ICE transferred Guevara to a detention facility a few days after his arrest.

FTC

CyberScoop: FTC warns tech companies not to weaken encryption, free speech practices for foreign governments

By Derek B. Johnson

.....Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson warned U.S. tech companies not to accede to laws in foreign countries that weaken Americans’ free speech or data privacy rights.

Specifically, Ferguson cited laws like the European Union’s Digital Service Act and the U.K.’s Online Safety Act as statutes that incentivize U.S. tech companies “to censor speech, including speech outside of Europe.” He said that could lead to heightened surveillance of Americans by foreign governments and increase their risk around identity theft and fraud.

“Companies might be censoring Americans in response to the laws, demands, or expected demands of foreign powers,” Ferguson wrote in letters to 13 different tech companies Thursday. “And the anti-encryption policies of foreign governments might be causing companies to weaken data security measures and other technological means for Americans to vindicate their right to anonymous and private speech.”

Free Expression

AP News: Lawyer for activist Jimmy Lai defends free speech in landmark Hong Kong trial

By Kanis Leung

.....A lawyer for prominent Hong Kong democracy activist and newspaper founder Jimmy Lai argued Wednesday that it was not wrong to support freedom of expression, as he made final arguments in Lai’s landmark sedition trial.

Barrister Robert Pang was representing Lai in his fight against charges of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to issue seditious publications. Lai, 77, faces up to life in prison if convicted under a national security law imposed by Beijing following anti-government protests in 2019.

The high-profile trial, which has lasted 150 days so far, entered its final stage this week, though the date for a verdict remains unclear. Foreign governments and political observers are closely monitoring the outcome, which is widely seen as a barometer of the city’s judicial independence and press freedom.

New York Times: A Critic of Universities Is Rallying to Defend Them in the Trump Era

By Jennifer Schuessler and Vimal Patel

.....The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, an increasingly prominent free-speech organization, has long been known as a fierce opponent of campus political correctness. Since its founding in 1999, it has been celebrated for defending conservatives and other dissidents from the prevailing liberal culture at America’s universities.

So when the group announced a lawsuit this month challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to deport noncitizen students who expressed pro-Palestinian views, some admirers were dismayed.

“In my lifetime,” one X user, Robert McLaws, wrote, “you went from supporting Republicans who were persecuted in colleges to supporting terrorist sympathizers who are guests of this country and whose presence is not constitutionally protected. Shameful.”

Political Parties

The Detroit News: Michigan Democratic Party penalizing candidates who endorse Duggan for governor

By Craig Mauger

.....The Michigan Democratic Party is cutting off access to its main voter data program for Democrats who endorse Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's independent campaign for governor.

Curtis Hertel Jr., chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, on Thursday confirmed the move.

The development marked an escalation by the Michigan Democratic establishment in its effort to oppose Duggan, the mayor of Michigan's largest city and a former Democrat who's seeking the state's top political office in 2026.

The States

ABC 20: Governor Pritzker strengthens press freedom with new anti-SLAPP law in Illinois

By Michelle Husain

.....Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1181 into law, clarifying that the protections in the Citizen Participation Act apply to the freedom of the press to opine, report, or investigate matters of public concern.

The Citizen Participation Act protects against “strategic lawsuits against public participation” (SLAPPs), and with this new amendment, news media will be explicitly added as a protected entity. In Illinois, journalists facing defamation lawsuits and similar litigation for reporting on public matters will be protected under the same legislation.

Chicago Tribune: State board’s $10 million fine against Senate President Don Harmon for fundraising is ‘ridiculous,’ lawyer says

By Dan Petrella 

.....Calling nearly $10 million in penalties that state election officials issued against Illinois Senate President Don Harmon for exceeding campaign contribution limits “ridiculous and unconstitutional,” an attorney for the Oak Park Democrat argued Wednesday the longtime legislator did not violate the political fundraising law he helped write.

Archive link

Syracuse.com: Syracuse Republican used homeless people to get tax-funded campaign boost, report says

By Jeremy Boyer

.....Elton Ellinger had to check out a rumor about people paying just $10 to buy $25 Visa gift cards outside the Fastrac gas station on Auburn’s busy Grant Avenue. When he got there, Ellinger met the person doing the promotion: Republican state Senate candidate Caleb Slater.

Slater, then a 28-year-old Syracuse resident, and members of his campaign were raising funds for his run for office.

Ellinger said he first gave them $10 to make sure the arrangement was real. Satisfied with the exchange, he upped the donation to the maximum they could take: $250. He got about $620 in gift cards back.

“I saw it for what it was immediately,” Ellinger said. “I saw a scam. And I wanted my own scam.”

Slater’s fundraising is under investigation by the state Public Campaign Finance Board, according to a report published last week by the Times Union in Albany.

The Times Union was the first to talk to Ellinger about a scheme involving gift cards and homeless donors that let Slater unlock at least $20,000 in matching funds from taxpayers. The newspaper also interviewed several homeless people who claimed they were paid to falsely sign paperwork stating they had made campaign contributions.

The scheme described in the report lines up with a photo syracuse.com obtained that was taken the afternoon of Aug. 8, 2024. It shows someone wearing a “Slater for Senate” shirt with a sign offering to sell people $25 gift cards for just $10.

Archive link

Politico: Poll shows California policy influencers want harsher social media laws than voters

By Tyler Katzenberger

.....California policy influencers are more eager to impose new controls on social media than Golden State voters, according to an exclusive POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab poll, signaling a possible disconnect between Sacramento elites and the people they represent.

Delaware News Journal:  ACLU of Delaware asks Ocean View to repeal new legislation regulating public assemblies

By Esteban Parra

.....The ACLU of Delaware is asking Ocean View Town Council to repeal a recently passed ordinance regulating certain gatherings, claiming the new law violates the First Amendment, which protects the right to assemble.

The ordinance, which passed on July 8, establishes guidelines and a permitting process for First Amendment assemblies in town parks and town-owned property.