TV stations could not refuse to run Eric Greitens’ political ad showing him with an armed tactical squad in hunt of “Rino” Republicans, as long as he paid for the air time. No matter how objectionable, defamatory or wrong a federal candidate’s TV ad may be, the Communications Act of 1934 has a “no-censorship no-liability rule”, says Mark Sableman, a partner at Thompson … [Read more...] about TV ad called objectionable, but stations couldn’t refuse it
Missouri
News Analysis: Liberty, privacy and women’s equality at stake in abortion decision
The constitutional promise that the U.S. Supreme Court is about to reinterpret and restrict in its abortion decision is the deepest well of individual freedom, autonomy and privacy in the Constitution. It doesn’t just protect women. It protects everyone. For that reason, the leaked draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito raises questions about whether that well of freedom - … [Read more...] about News Analysis: Liberty, privacy and women’s equality at stake in abortion decision
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s unconstitutional attack on the press
From afar, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s attempt to prosecute a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter looks like the folly of a vindictive politician who doesn’t understand computers or the First Amendment. But it is more serious than that. A governor trying to prosecute a journalist for reporting publicly available information poses a serious threat to press freedom. It’s … [Read more...] about Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s unconstitutional attack on the press
Most St. Louis police officers who kill civilians are hidden from the public eye
Most of the 79 St. Louis area police officers who killed people in recent years have escaped public scrutiny, going unnamed both in media and department incident reports. Nearly half of them still are active officers today. In addition, public knowledge of police killings has significantly decreased, despite increased attention to police killings nationwide. In the City of … [Read more...] about Most St. Louis police officers who kill civilians are hidden from the public eye
Post-Ferguson police reform stalls among racial divisions
ST. LOUIS - Ferguson became the Selma of the 21st century after Officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown seven years ago. Protests transformed Black Lives Matter from a hashtag into the nation’s leading civil rights movement and forged a potent political coalition that elected Black reformers to top St. Louis offices, from prosecutor to congresswoman to mayor. Yet Ferguson … [Read more...] about Post-Ferguson police reform stalls among racial divisions