Author: First Amendment Lawyers Association
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United States v. Anderegg (7th Cir. 2025)
FALA and FIRE filed this joint amicus brief in the Seventh Circuit urging the court to affirm the district court’s dismissal of a federal obscenity charge against Steven Anderegg for privately possessing AI-generated images of nude boys. The brief argues that Stanley v. Georgia (1969) protects private possession of obscene material in the home, and…
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Public statement – Adams v. County of Sacramento Amicus Brief
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – – NOVEMBER 22, 2024 The First Amendment Lawyers Association (FALA) today filed a motion in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for leave to file an amicus brief in Adams v. County of Sacramento, urging the full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the case following a split 2-1 panel…
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Statement on Filing of Amicus Brief in Support of Application of the New York Times v. Sullivan “Malice” Standard to Disciplinary Proceedings Based on Attorney Speech
The First Amendment Lawyers Association (FALA) yesterday filed an amicus brief supporting the granting of certiorari by the Supreme Court of the United States in Pierre v. Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland and Weinberg v. Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, Case No. 23-474, in order to answer the unsettled question of whether that the free…
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Statement of Opposition to Ohio Department of Public Health Rules Regarding Care of Transgender Patients
The First Amendment Lawyers Association today announces its opposition to the adoption, by the Ohio Department of Health, of proposed rules that would drastically curtail the ability of physicians to provide care to transgender patients or to provide patients with “any resources or information on where or how to receive such care,” in blatant derogation…
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Reed C. Lee
The First Amendment Lawyers Association deeply mourns the untimely death of our long-time member and dear friend, Reed C. Lee, of Chicago, Illinois, who suddenly passed away on December 26th. Reed was a giant among this generation of First Amendment lawyers. Among other pivotal roles that he played at FALA, he previously served as our…
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FALA Statement Congratulating Its National Secretary’s Victory in Greenberg v. Haggerty
The First Amendment Lawyers Association applauds the successful First Amendment challenge by our National Secretary, Zachary Greenberg, and the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institution (www.hlli.org) to Rule 8.4(g) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, resulting in a preliminary injunction issued on December 8, 2020, in Greenberg v. Haggerty, USDC, EDPa, Case No. 20-3822. The decision…
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FALA Statement on Issues with Online Service Providers
We often receive inquiries regarding perceived First Amendment violations by online service providers such as social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, based on deletion of posts, groups, or ads. Often, a user believes their content was removed based on their viewpoint or political beliefs. Understandably, this feels like the speech is being censored…
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Joint Statement: “The Free Press in a Time of Crisis”
FALA, joined by 55 organizations, released the following statement on June 8, 2020. The American people have witnessed the bravery of health care providers and other essential workers who have put their lives on the line to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Now that we face another national crisis following the death of George Floyd, it…
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FALA Statement Upon Issuance of the Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship
As an organization devoted for more than 50 years to protecting freedom of expression, the First Amendment Lawyers Association (FALA) objects to the plainly anti-free speech Executive Order the President issued in the name of supposedly “preventing censorship.” The Order reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the history and operation of the First Amendment, the freedoms…
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Comment Opposing Adoption of Model Rule 8.4(g) in Arizona
The First Amendment Lawyers Association (FALA) opposed Arizona’s adoption of ABA Model Rule 8.4(g), which would make it professional misconduct for attorneys to engage in harassment or discrimination “related to the practice of law.” FALA argues the rule is an unconstitutionally vague, viewpoint-based speech restriction that would chill legal advocacy, expose attorneys to discipline for…