First Amendment – Page 13 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Pickering Free Speech Rights and Cyberbullying by Public Employees

Post author:Paul M. Secunda
Post published:September 30, 2010
Post category:First Amendment Labor & Employment Law

I can’t make this stuff up. From CNN and Anderson Cooper (with video):

For nearly six months, Andrew Shirvell, an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, has waged an Internet campaign against college student Chris Armstrong, the openly gay student assembly president at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Using the online moniker “Concerned Michigan Alumnus,” Shirvell launched his blog in late April.

“Welcome to ‘Chris Armstrong Watch,'” Shirvell wrote in his inaugural blog post.

How Far Should Disclosure Requirements Go?

Post author:Richard M. Esenberg
Post published:August 6, 2010
Post category:Election Law First Amendment

I’ll be appearing tongight on Wisconsin Public Television’s Here and Now, discussing the Government Accountability Board’s new rule requiring groups and persons who spend more that $ 25 on something called “political communications” during a set period preceding an election to register, make certain filings and disclose the source of their funds. Joining me will be Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

More Contention on the Wisconsin Supreme Court

Post author:Richard M. Esenberg
Post published:July 10, 2010
Post category:First Amendment Judges & Judicial Process Wisconsin Supreme Court

Last Thursday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court finally issued opinions on recusal rules that it adopted earlier in the term and which essentially say that a duty to recuse cannot be be based solely on the receipt of a lawful campaign contribution or a lawful independent expenditure made on a judge’s behalf. The Court also amended a preexisting rule to permit a judicial candidate’s campaign committee from soliciting funds from persons involved in proceedings in which the candidate, if elected or reelected, is likely to participate.

The majority opinion and dissent continue to reflect the sharp and bitted divisons on the Court. I wish that would get better.

I have an article on judicial recusal coming out in the Wake Forest Law Review, so it’s a subject that I have been thinking about. I have the following quick observations on the Court’s decision.