Douglas Lee columns

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Suing over satire? Let's be reasonable
By Douglas Lee State appeals court doesn't give Texans much credit for knowing the difference between real news and satire.  05.28.02

When judges act as editors, public loses out
By Douglas Lee 2001 closes with three disparate decisions by trial judges with seemingly common goal of blocking public's right to know.  01.01.02

White supremacist gets good news in midst of setback
By Douglas Lee Illinois high court decision supporting solicitors' First Amendment rights could boost Matthew Hale, other fringe fund-raisers.  11.27.01

Anonymous speech tough to pull off in trying times
By Douglas Lee We need to resist the temptation to silence those we cannot see and do not know.  10.30.01

Courts employ faulty logic to embrace 'civic prayer'
By Douglas Lee But flawed reasoning doesn’t mean that prayer or other religious speech should be barred from village halls or other public places.  09.29.01

It all adds up to loss for First Amendment
By Douglas Lee Whether critics of Texas town’s new math curriculum win or lose federal suit, dispute will teach schools how to squelch dissent — and get away with it.  08.28.01

Illinois attorneys should stand up for avowed racist
By Douglas Lee First Amendment rights of lawyers shouldn’t be sacrificed on altar of political correctness.  07.24.01

Idaho high court's misstep shouldn't be ignored
By Douglas Lee Ruling is clear, unprecedented and alarming: A newspaper that publishes information obtained from court records can be liable for invasion of privacy.  06.26.01

Ruling affirming anonymous jury flouts principle of open trials
By Douglas Lee 5th Circuit decision in U.S. v. Brown treats ordinary newsgathering as threat to ‘integrity and independence of the jury process.’  05.29.01

Muzzling advertisers won't make parents more responsible
By Douglas Lee Sen. Joe Lieberman’s plan to penalize media companies for marketing adult material to minors will only inject government into speech between manufacturer, consumer.  05.01.01

Journalists find little protection under Illinois shield law
By Douglas Lee Judge’s recent order forcing reporter to turn over notes, interview tape exposes gaping hole in privileges protecting press from lawyers’ fishing expeditions.  03.27.01

Utah census suit puts another recount battle in court
By Douglas Lee Unlike presidential-election fiasco, this case involves missionaries, military personnel and battle over congressional seat.  02.28.01

Decision in Chicago case could erode protections for political dissenters
By Douglas Lee Demonstrating how easily judges can strip away important minority rights, 7th Circuit panel recently overturned decree that barred police from spying on political groups.  01.24.01

Florida election case proved value of cameras in the courtroom
By Douglas Lee First Amendment right of access to the courts was clear winner in post-election coverage.  12.26.00

Networks should shun congressional hearings on election coverage
By Douglas Lee Voluntary participation by media in hearings would legitimize an illegitimate inquiry.  11.22.00

Poor police work no excuse for stripping journalists of rights
By Douglas Lee Judges are too quick to side with prosecutors who want to use reporters' efforts to prove their case.  11.02.00

Government must remember First Amendment protects unpopular views, too
By Douglas Lee Federal appeals panel's decision should remind officials that they can't guarantee some minorities' civil rights by denying rights to others.  10.09.00

Political nonprofit has tough road ahead in challenging new disclosure rules
By Douglas Lee Courts more likely to sacrifice the interests of anonymous speakers than to endorse system that limits both contributions, spending.  09.13.00

Taking militant stance on public prayer misses the point
By Douglas Lee Insisting on prayer at high school football games is inconsistent with Christianity and the First Amendment.  09.01.00

Technology could block access to open courts
By Douglas Lee Price of convenience for judges, lawyers could be steep for public, news media.  07.28.00

Court overturns reporters' contempt charges, but rulings are nothing to cheer about
By Douglas Lee In North Carolina contempt cases, 4th Circuit pays lip service to constitutional right to gather news but ultimately ducks critical issue.  07.20.00

Oklahoma court makes dubious assumptions about cameras in court
By Douglas Lee Decision sends disturbing message to trial court judges across country by assuming that televised coverage will taint jury pool, interfere with fair trial.  06.29.00

Telemarketers battle static from federal regulators
By Douglas Lee Congress again takes aim at unpopular industry that is already overburdened.  06.27.00

Dramatic events surrounding fight for Elián highlight the First Amendment in action
By Douglas Lee Freedoms of assembly, speech and the press underscore how different the United States really is from Cuba.  04.24.00

It was bad enough when only lawyers were censored in Illinois
By Douglas Lee Prosecutors, police are overreacting to new state Supreme Court rules by cutting off press, public access to police blotters, other basic information.  03.31.00

Moot Court competitors to tackle issue of violent video games
By Douglas Lee Forty-two teams will argue whether the First Amendment protects game-maker from liability when a student, inspired by the game, shoots his teacher.  03.16.00

We have nothing to fear except a fearful government
By Douglas Lee Anxiety motivates public officials to clamp down on citizens' First Amendment rights.  03.08.00

State chief justice sides with majority, but gives map to news media for next time
By Douglas Lee In her concurring opinion, Wisconsin's Shirley S. Abrahamson lays out plan for trial court judges to follow to ensure public, press access to pre-trial discovery materials.  03.02.00

Illinois high court deals crippling blow to journalistic privilege
By Douglas Lee While Pawlaczyk will not apply in every case, it gives state's prosecutors frightening new weapon in their increasing efforts to obtain reporters' testimony.  02.11.00

Judges don't do justice any favors by keeping cameras out of courtroom
By Douglas Lee In separate cases that command attention, New York judge opts to allow public to access trial through televised coverage while California court bars cameras.  02.03.00

Secret juries threaten integrity of judicial system
By Douglas Lee Provision of new law seeking to protect jurors from harm misses mark, instead damages openness of courtrooms.  12.30.99

Rewrite of 10 Commandments still fails test
By Douglas Lee Indiana school district's code of conduct might pass if admonition to 'Trust in God' were dropped.  12.24.99

Illinois justice goes out on a limb for First Amendment, Matthew Hale
By Douglas Lee Outspoken state Supreme Court justice was white supremacist's only defender in effort to obtain law license.  12.06.99

With arm-twisting or without, FBI exposes government's penchant for censorship
By Douglas Lee Even if no specific request was made by agents to close Crowded Theater Web site, the threat to the First Amendment is real.  12.03.99

New rules put gag on too tight for Illinois lawyers
By Douglas Lee Right to a fair trial cannot justify unnecessary restrictions on attorneys' speech.  11.03.99

Latest Food Lion ruling isn't clear-cut win for free press
By Douglas Lee Instead of finding case filled with First Amendment doctrine, Douglas Lee finds painstaking analyses of state fraud and employment law.  10.29.99

Journalists can't wait for law to catch up with technology
By Douglas Lee Newsgathering issues in the Internet age emerge faster than courts can act.  10.12.99

Making a big stink about 'disgusting' art just attracts audience for exhibit
By Douglas Lee In the short term, at least, Giuliani's actions have backfired and have made the museum a heroic defender of the First Amendment.  10.01.99

Federal appeals panel puts popularity aside in phone company case
By Douglas Lee Court undoubtedly would have been more popular had it embraced privacy rights of consumers rather than free-speech rights of telemarketers.  09.01.99

Media score three wins in fight for press rights
By Douglas Lee These victories are particularly noteworthy because trial judges, juries frequently have overlooked First Amendment freedoms in order to protect individuals' reputations and privacy.  08.26.99

California ruling on civil trials may stem tide of closed courtrooms
By Douglas Lee State high court firmly rejects the notion that juries can be fair only if courtrooms are closed.  08.04.99

White supremacist's battles with state prove wrong is sometimes right
By Douglas Lee Illinois officials have done for Matthew Hale what he never could have done for himself: They legitimized his beliefs and made him the victim rather than the oppressor.  07.23.99

Media attorneys win big as newsgathering takes hit
By Douglas Lee California high court's intricate analysis in Sanders v. ABC will make lawyers an indispensable - if unwelcome - part of undercover reporting teams.  07.09.99

City official's complaint about cartoon illustrates ignorance
By Douglas Lee If bureaucrats can charge media with discrimination every time a minority is offended by a published opinion, the First Amendment will be stripped of its meaning.  06.18.99

Why must we overreact every time rebel flag appears?
By Douglas Lee Symbolic power of Confederate flag, after all, is very reason that its display must not be over-regulated.  05.28.99

But seriously folks, First Amendment fights shouldn't be frivolous
By Douglas Lee Rulings in two Indiana cases were necessary, but the lack of principle involved renders both victories relatively hollow.  05.19.99

Boy Scout controversy pits ACLU against God, mom, apple pie
By Douglas Lee As long as the Boy Scouts require a religious oath, the principle of church/state separation should prevent publicly funded organizations from sponsoring troops.  05.03.99

CBS steps into Lion's den with undercover report
By Douglas Lee Decision in Food Lion case against ABC may determine fate of controversial newsgathering practice.  04.29.99

Displays of Ten Commandments can be constitutional, but at what cost?
By Douglas Lee Those who would proselytize with religious codes in public places should heed lessons of Nativity scene cases.  03.30.99

Survey on state of press freedom shows how much work media must do
By Douglas Lee Challenges include not only educating public on importance of First Amendment freedoms, but also accepting responsibilities that come with rights.  03.23.99

Page last updated: 10/1/2013 5:16:23 PM