Clinic wins $105K settlement for photojournalist arrested for exercising his right to record

The University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic and civil rights attorneys Gerald Weber and Leigh Finlayson have secured a $105,000 settlement from the City of Atlanta on behalf of photojournalist Sharif Hassan. Mr. Hassan was arrested in Atlanta during the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment…

Clinic files social media blocking case against City of Morrow

The University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Morrow, Georgia for blocking Aaron Booterbaugh from the City’s Facebook Page after he posted comments critical of the City’s Mayor and City Manager. Read the full Complaint here. The litigation also challenges the City…

Contributing to the public debate: Clinic students publish op-eds in wake of 2023 legislative session

The 2023 legislative session was a busy time for the Georgia General Assembly, with many bills introduced — a good number of which passed — impacting free expression and open government interests. The Georgia First Amendment Foundation (GFAF)’s Legislative Watch highlights some of these proposed and passed laws. GFAF’s Legislative Watch was informed by the…

Amicus win: Federal judge in Puerto Rico strikes down ‘false information’ law

The United States District Court of Puerto Rico has permanently enjoined enforcement of a ‘false information’ law that made it a crime, during a state-declared emergency, to disseminate information known to be false in the form of a “warning or false alarm” or if the information created “imminent risk” of harm. Consistent with arguments made…

Clinic successfully asserts Georgia Shield Law to quash non-party document requests to press collective

  Working on behalf of non-profit media collective Atlanta Community Press Collective (“ACPC”), the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic successfully asserted Georgia’s Shield Law to defeat Non-Party Document Requests that ACPC received from Blackhall Real Estate Phase II, LLC (“Blackhall”), a defendant in South River Watershed Alliance v. Dekalb County and…

Clinic wins summary judgment for independent journalist in #MeToo defamation case

On March 21, 2023, the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic and pro bono counsel from BakerHostetler won an important victory for press freedoms on behalf of an independent journalist, who reports on the world of obstacle course racing and was sued for publishing an article. In late 2019, the journalist published on his…

Norins featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind”

  Clare R. Norins, director of the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, was featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind,” which aired March 2, 2023. The segment, titled “Growing distrust and political problems for the press,” focused on recent revelations that Fox News knew that stolen election claims being amplified by…

4th Circuit cites Clinic’s legal scholars brief in decision enjoining N.C. Property Protection Act

On February 23, 2023, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals enjoined enforcement of North Carolina’s Property Protection Act against  animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The Clinic’s friend-of-the-court brief filed on behalf of eighteen law professors urged the circuit to invalidate the following provisions of the Act that allow all…

Clinic joins FIRE in lawsuit on behalf of U.S. Army veteran cited for speech on public sidewalk

Photo: Plaintiff Jeff Gray holds a sign that reads, “God Bless the Homeless Vets” The University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic has joined the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in filing a federal lawsuit on behalf of U.S. Army veteran Jeffrey Gray who was criminally cited for holding a “God…

Amicus victory: The Georgia Supreme Court affirms voters’ right to petition under the state constitution

Photo: Cumberland Island National Seashore In Camden County v. Sweatt, the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic filed an amicus brief asking the Georgia Supreme Court to affirm Georgians’ constitutional petition-and-referendum power to veto legislative decisions by their county commissioners that go against the will of the people they were elected to…