Author: William H. Freivogel

First Amendment, the law and the Occupy movement

Occupy Wall Street protesters have a First Amendment right to protest in a public park, but they don't have the right to camp overnight or to physically block police officers trying to remove their tents. If officers try to forcibly remove protesters, the police may use reasonable, but not excessive force. That is the consensus of

SIUC sets off Facebook controversy over faculty strike

Only half of the students in my media ethics class showed up on Thursday (Nov. 3) because the Faculty Association at SIU Carbondale is on strike. But the students who came were eager to discuss the ethics and legality of the university's decision overnight to delete comments about the strike from the university Facebook page. By

Judges weigh in on Illinois eavesdropping laws

Illinois’ toughest in the nation eavesdropping law has taken it on the chin twice in recent days. A judge in Crawford County ruled it unconstitutional and a jury in Chicago acquitted a woman who recorded her conversation with a police officer. Illinois law makes it a felony to record audio of conversations without the consent

Judge rules Protess students not protected by Shield Laws

A judge in Chicago has ordered the production of more than 500 emails between Northwestern University journalism students and their former professor, David Protess, whose Innocence Project was instrumental in freeing five death row inmates in Chicago. Cook County Circuit Judge Diane Cannon ruled last week that even though Illinois’ shield law protects student journalists,