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RARE PHOTOS: Priscilla villarreal - The Real Truth

Arresting a Reporter for Asking Questions Was a 'Blatant First Amendment Violation,' Sonia Sotomayor Says

The justice dissented from the Supreme Court's denial of a petition from a Texas journalist who was charged with felonies for practicing journalism.

Reason

Texas officials who targeted a journalist just got a response from the Supreme Court that will change how the First Amendment works for everyone

The Supreme Court just delivered a significant blow to citizen journalists, rejecting a case brought by Priscilla Villarreal against Texas officials who had arrested her for reporting. This decision, announced on Monday, means Villarreal’s civil rights claim, which argued her First Amendment free speech rights were violated, cannot move forward.

The Mary Sue

Justice Sotomayor on the Freedom of the Press and the Right to Ask Questions

The Justice largely agrees with Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho's dissenting opinion below, but writes alone in dissenting from the Supreme Court's decision not to consider the case.

Reason

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Supreme Court rejects appeal from online citizen journalist over her arrest in Texas

The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a Texas-based online citizen journalist who said she was wrongly arrested in a case that drew attention from national media organizations and free speech advocates

The Independent UK

A Texas News Vlogger Asks SCOTUS To Decide Whether Criminalizing Journalism Is 'Obviously Unconstitutional'

This is Priscilla Villarreal’s second trip to the Supreme Court, which last year revived her First Amendment lawsuit.

Reason

Why a Trump-Appointed Judge Is Torching His Own Court’s Qualified Immunity Logic—and the Government Abuse It Enables

Judge James C. Ho recently described a troubling phenomenon on the 5th Circuit and the government abuse it enables.

Reason

2 New Jersey Journalists Face Criminal Charges for Publishing Information From a Police Blotter

The prosecution, the latest example of local attempts to criminalize news reporting, is blatantly at odds with First Amendment principles.

Reason

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On Remand, the 5th Circuit Again Blocks a Lawsuit by a Texas Reporter Arrested for Newsgathering

Even if Laredo cops punished Priscilla Villarreal for constitutionally protected speech, the appeals court says, they would be protected by qualified immunity.

Reason

Help Reason Help Individuals Crushed by the State

Your donations make it easier for us publicize so very many cases of outrageous injustice

Reason

Citizen Journalism Is Under Attack. This Texas Woman Is Fighting to Save It.

After being arrested for doing journalism, Priscilla Villarreal has taken her fight to the courts.

Reason

This Reporter Was Arrested for Asking Questions. The Supreme Court Just Revived Her Lawsuit.

Priscilla Villarreal's case is about whether certain reporters have more robust free speech rights than others.

Reason

Supreme Court opens door to Texas online journalist's lawsuit over her 2017 arrest

The Supreme Court has ordered a federal appeals court to take a new look at the lawsuit filed by a Texas-based online citizen journalist who said she was wrongly arrested in a case that drew attention from national media organizations and free speech advocates

The Independent UK

Citizen Journalist Barred From Press Conference Can Sue Texas Sheriff for Violating His Rights, Judge Rules

The decision is a reminder that independent reporters are still protected by the same First Amendment as journalists in legacy media.

Reason

A Texas Reporter Was Arrested for Asking Questions. The State Says That's No Big Deal.

Opposing Priscilla Villarreal's petition for Supreme Court review, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton portrays basic journalism as "incitement."

Reason

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Reason

This Texas Woman Was Jailed for Her Journalism. Is She the Future of Media?

Priscilla Villarreal, known as "Lagordiloca," is suing law enforcement for violating her First Amendment rights. She is appealing to the Supreme Court.

Reason

SCOTUS Makes It Easier for Victims of Retaliatory Arrests To Vindicate Their First Amendment Rights

The justices ruled that "objective evidence" of retaliation does not require "very specific comparator evidence."

Reason

These Strange Bedfellows Want SCOTUS To Remind the 5th Circuit That Journalism Is Not a Crime

An ideologically diverse mix of individuals and organizations supports a Texas journalist who was arrested for asking questions.

Reason

This Journalist Was Arrested, Strip-Searched, and Jailed for Filming Police. Will He Get Justice?

Justin Pulliam's arrest and lawsuit once again demand we ask if "real" journalists are entitled to a different set of rights.

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Reason

Journalism Is Not a Crime, Even When It Offends the Government

Julian Assange and Priscilla Villarreal were both arrested for publishing information that government officials wanted to conceal.

Reason

A Texas Reporter Busted for Asking Questions Asks SCOTUS To Reject the Criminalization of Journalism

Priscilla Villarreal is appealing a 5th Circuit decision that dismissed her First Amendment lawsuit against Laredo police and prosecutors.

Reason

The Biden Administration Is Bent on Setting an Alarming Precedent by Prosecuting Julian Assange

The WikiLeaks founder already has spent as much time in a London prison as DOJ lawyers say he is likely to serve if convicted in the U.S.

Reason

Qualified Immunity Is Not Limited to Police Brutality. It Protects a Wide Variety of Abusive Officials.

An analysis of appeals involving the doctrine finds that less than a quarter "fit the popular conception of police accused of excessive force."

Reason

The 5th Circuit Says Criminalizing Journalism Is Not Obviously Unconstitutional

The appeals court dismissed a civil rights lawsuit by a Laredo gadfly who was arrested for asking questions.

Reason

She Was Arrested for Her Journalism. A Federal Court Says She Can't Sue.

Priscilla Villarreal, also known as "Lagordiloca," has sparked a debate about free speech and who, exactly, is a journalist.

Reason

Nice Dig at Qualified Immunity, by Judge Don Willett (5th Cir.)

I'm not sure where I stand on qualified immunity—I haven't looked at its history closely enough—but I thought this was well put, in Judge Willett's dissent yesterday in Villarreal v. City of Laredo (en banc): [O]ne of the justifications so frequently invoked in defense of qualified immunity—that law enforcement officers…

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