On December 17, 2021 the Clinic partnered with the Georgia First Amendment Foundation to lead training on Georgia’s Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act for town and county government officials gathered in Hiawassee, Georgia.
Keep ReadingPrior review & prior restraint in school-sponsored media
Prior restraint is a type of censorship where speech or expression is stopped before it occurs.
Keep ReadingClinic presents to National College of Probate Judges
In November 2021, Clinic director Clare R. Norins and legal fellow Samantha C. Hamilton presented to over 80 members of the National College of Probate Judges at their annual fall conference held in Savannah, Georgia.
Keep ReadingClinic students lead citizens’ training on “sunshine laws”
On September 30, 2021, First Amendment Clinic students Austin Albertson, Paige Medley, and Kyle Renner led a webinar training, hosted by the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, on open government “sunshine laws” in Georgia.
Keep ReadingAmicus win in Georgia Supreme Court under anti-SLAPP statute
On October 19, 2021, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a decision in ACLU v. Zeh giving full force and effect to the free-speech protections codified by Georgia’s anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (“anti-SLAPP”) statute.
Keep ReadingClinic helps restore public comment at city council meetings
During the summer of 2021, residents of Greensboro, Georgia contacted the First Amendment Clinic about the public comment period at city council meetings having been indefinitely shut down in response to community members expressing their views about a controversial city official.
Keep ReadingNorins comments on students’ free speech rights post-Mahanoy
The following guest column by Clinic director Clare R. Norins was published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on June 28, 2021.
Keep ReadingClinic successfully opposes expansion of Augusta panhandling ordinance
In July 2021 the First Amendment Clinic, in partnership with the National Homelessness Law Center, wrote to Augusta-Richmond County officials urging them to reject a proposed expansion of the County’s panhandling ordinance and to repeal the existing ordinance due to its unconstitutional targeting of protected speech.
Keep ReadingBrechner Center highlights Clinic’s analysis of state agency “gag policies”
A June 2021 Report by the University of Florida’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information highlighted the Clinic’s analysis finding that more than 20 Georgia state agencies have formal policies that restrain their employees’ speech in constitutionally questionable ways.
Keep ReadingWhen government employees are not allowed to speak to the media
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are both abridged when government agencies prohibit their employees from speaking with the media on matters of public import. By Julia Griffis and Taran Harmon-Walker
Keep ReadingNorins presents on “Police & the Press: News Coverage of Protests”
On May 6, 2021, the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, in partnership with the Society of Professional Journalists, Georgia Chapter and the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, hosted a virtual panel discussion on Police & the Press: News Coverage of Protests
Keep ReadingClinic’s “Rap on Trial” team presents to public defenders
The Clinic’s “Rap on Trial” team presented to the Hall County Public Defenders on arguments for challenging the admission of rap lyrics and music videos as evidence in criminal prosecutions.
Keep ReadingClinic conducts training in Towns County to improve public access to government
On December 17, 2021 the Clinic partnered with the Georgia First Amendment Foundation to lead training on Georgia’s Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act for town and county government officials gathered in Hiawassee, Georgia.
Keep ReadingPrior review & prior restraint in school-sponsored media
Prior restraint is a type of censorship where speech or expression is stopped before it occurs.
Keep ReadingClinic presents to National College of Probate Judges
In November 2021, Clinic director Clare R. Norins and legal fellow Samantha C. Hamilton presented to over 80 members of the National College of Probate Judges at their annual fall conference held in Savannah, Georgia.
Keep ReadingClinic students lead citizens’ training on “sunshine laws”
On September 30, 2021, First Amendment Clinic students Austin Albertson, Paige Medley, and Kyle Renner led a webinar training, hosted by the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, on open government “sunshine laws” in Georgia.
Keep ReadingAmicus win in Georgia Supreme Court under anti-SLAPP statute
On October 19, 2021, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a decision in ACLU v. Zeh giving full force and effect to the free-speech protections codified by Georgia’s anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (“anti-SLAPP”) statute.
Keep ReadingClinic helps restore public comment at city council meetings
During the summer of 2021, residents of Greensboro, Georgia contacted the First Amendment Clinic about the public comment period at city council meetings having been indefinitely shut down in response to community members expressing their views about a controversial city official.
Keep ReadingNorins comments on students’ free speech rights post-Mahanoy
The following guest column by Clinic director Clare R. Norins was published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on June 28, 2021.
Keep ReadingClinic successfully opposes expansion of Augusta panhandling ordinance
In July 2021 the First Amendment Clinic, in partnership with the National Homelessness Law Center, wrote to Augusta-Richmond County officials urging them to reject a proposed expansion of the County’s panhandling ordinance and to repeal the existing ordinance due to its unconstitutional targeting of protected speech.
Keep ReadingBrechner Center highlights Clinic’s analysis of state agency “gag policies”
A June 2021 Report by the University of Florida’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information highlighted the Clinic’s analysis finding that more than 20 Georgia state agencies have formal policies that restrain their employees’ speech in constitutionally questionable ways.
Keep ReadingWhen government employees are not allowed to speak to the media
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are both abridged when government agencies prohibit their employees from speaking with the media on matters of public import. By Julia Griffis and Taran Harmon-Walker
Keep ReadingNorins presents on “Police & the Press: News Coverage of Protests”
On May 6, 2021, the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, in partnership with the Society of Professional Journalists, Georgia Chapter and the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, hosted a virtual panel discussion on Police & the Press: News Coverage of Protests
Keep ReadingClinic’s “Rap on Trial” team presents to public defenders
The Clinic’s “Rap on Trial” team presented to the Hall County Public Defenders on arguments for challenging the admission of rap lyrics and music videos as evidence in criminal prosecutions.
Keep Reading