First Amendment

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday reaffirmed a November ruling removing a block on Senate Bill 12 and denied a request by plaintiffs for a rehearing.

A judge ruled Senate Bill 13, passed in 2021, violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The law prevented state investments in firms it deemed as boycotting oil and gas companies.

The law also mandates that all subpoenas in a criminal case be sealed in perpetuity, unless the court finds that unsealing a subpoena is in the “interest of justice.”

A federal appeals court will hear arguments in lawsuits seeking to block Texas and Louisiana from requiring classroom displays of the Ten Commandments.

Following the Dec. 1 memorandum from Texas Tech University System Chancellor Brandon Creighton, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent letters to each of the five presidents within the Tech system, calling upon them not to restrict academic freedom or classroom instruction based on viewpoint.

Similar lawsuits in Texas and Louisiana have moved to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and will be heard in January.

A Waco judge this week made permanent a block on a state law that required book vendors to rate materials based on their sexual content and references.

The texts between Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody and a restaurant owner were allegedly deleted amid widespread scrutiny of the chief's August 2023 raids of the Marion County Record newspaper and the homes of the paper's owners.

Gov. Greg Abbott called for a student to be expelled for celebrating Kirk's death. Legal experts say the student's speech is likely constitutionally protected.

While Oklahoma politicians seek to punish educators critical of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk online, supporters from across the state gathered at Oklahoma State University to remember his faith and staunch defense of free speech.