News & Media
GOP rep sues House speaker after newsletter critical of lawmakers, Whitmer is blocked
Lansing — Republican state Rep. Matt Maddock has filed a federal lawsuit against Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate and House Business Office employees for refusing to use taxpayer resources to pay for the printing and mailing of a constituent newsletter that criticized Tate and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The FDNY and Elon Musk Really Need to Recognize Free Speech
Firefighters booed Attorney General Letitia James. SpaceX employees wrote a scathing letter about Elon Musk. They have every right to do so.
Job Posting – Transactional Lawyer Needed
We are known for our First Amendment advocacy, but that’s not all we do. We have a lot of business needs for our clients. However, we are not (nor will we ever be) a “form churning farm.” Businesses and individuals come to us because they need creative solutions to problems, and out of the box thinking for how to prevent them. A lot of our clients come to us after speaking to a number of other lawyers, all of whom say “I just don’t know how to handle this.” We’ve represented Nevada brothel operations to national religious organizations, journalism start ups,
Privacy vs. First Amendment Right to Publish
Well, we made a promise we swore we’d always remember No retreat, baby, no surrender Like soldiers in the winter’s night With a vow to defend No retreat, baby, no surrender -Bruce Springsteen BREWER, Maine: In the case of McBreairty v. Brewer, the federal court ordered the parties to brief the issue of whether a journalist can publish a photograph if the photo had been created in violation of a privacy statute. It is not good form to take an absolute position in a legal debate. We should always leave some room to fall back, somewhere we can retreat
City Violates First Amendment and Due Process Rights
Gloucester, Mass., Plaintiff is an elected official, dedicated to community service, who discussed a volunteer program with a constituent who happens to be a high school student. Defendants, seeking political advantage, mischaracterized the encounter as something nefarious. Defendants unfairly maligned Plaintiff and barred him from entering a school premises or attending school sponsored events, in an attempt to smear him. In a meeting with the City Attorney, the Plaintiff was told that he “may feel as though [his] due process rights have been violated, and I would likely agree with [him], but that this is a much better result than
First Amendment Suit for Petitioning Teenager
Teens in Brewer, Maine were concerned about a school bathroom rule which permits biological males to use the girls’ bathroom. The teenagers decided to circulate a petition asking the administration to reconsider. The petition could not have been more neutral in content. However, the teens allege that the school administration came down hard on them for it, accusing them of committing a “hate crime.” The teens want to continue circulating their petition, and the law says that students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door. Importantly, the case is not about whether the bathroom policy is good
Job Posting – Defend the First Amendment
Randazza Legal Group is looking for an associate who is already licensed or a law student we can have do some work and then farm up. We are First Amendment lawyers. We went up against the government because they were trying to censor a guy who protested in favor of LGBTQ rights. Then, we used the same underlying briefing to support a woman who protested against Pride Month. We are Catholics who assist pro-abortion protesters and Satanists. We are Jews who fight for Nazis’ free speech rights. We are gays who fight for people who want to end marriage equality. We
First Amendment Suit For LGBT Supporting Protester
Randazza Legal Group filed a lawsuit for Stephen Mandile, commonly known as “the Kindness Guy.” Mandile regularly stands outside schools holding up signs to support kids and against bullying. A disabled veteran, he spent an entire evening sleeping on a bridge to guard a Pride Month display that had been previously vandalized. Mandile seeks to vindicate his First Amendment rights and to protect them for others. The verified Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction provide further information. Both were filed in federal court in the District of Massachusetts. UPDATE: Due to the strength of the case, the parties entered into a
Censorship By Abuse of Restraining Order Process – First Amendment Victory
Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA – In this case, a citizen got in a debate with another citizen over their competing views on pride month. Ms. Hope Watt-Bucci, a real estate agent in Manchester, MA disagreed with Kim Kahan’s political views. Rather than let their ideas compete in the marketplace of ideas, as our Constitution mandates, Ms. Watt-Bucci preferred to act the part of the bully and censor. She harassed Ms. Kahan directly, sought to enlist others to harass Ms. Kahan, incited others to steal Ms. Kahan’s property, and even incited others to throw feces at Ms. Kahan’s home. This was all because
One on 1 with Marc Randazza
In this One on 1 interview, we are joined by First Amendment attorney and political commentator Marc J. Randazza. Randazza discusses the importance and nuances of our freedom of speech and expression while sharing some of his experiences as a First Amendment lawyer.
‘Teen Mom 2′ Stars Kailyn Lowry, Briana DeJesus’ Lawsuit Dismissed, But the Drama Continues
The legal baby mama drama may be over, but the ongoing scandal continues. After nearly nine months of battling it out in court, Kailyn Lowry’s defamation lawsuit against her Teen Mom 2 costar Briana DeJesus has been dismissed in the Florida native’s favor, Us Weekly can confirm.
Brewery Sues North Carolina Alcohol Commission for Banning its Beer Because Label is “in Bad Taste”
The North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABC) denied the state-wide sale and distribution of Flying Dog Brewery’s bottled Freezin’ Season Winter Ale citing an administrative rule that First Amendment attorney Marc Randazza and Flying Dog Brewery call unconstitutional and a violation of the First Amendment in the lawsuit they filed against the ABC. The agency denied the sale and distribution of Freezin’ Season because the label is “in bad taste.” The ABC controls the sale, purchase, transportation, manufacture, consumption, and possession of all alcoholic beverages in North Carolina. In court documents, Randazza argues that the ABC’s censorship is currently
Nevada Sex Worker Sues Gov. Sisolak for Continued Closure of Brothels Amid COVID-19
Alice Little, Nevada’s premiere and highest-paid courtesan, filed a lawsuit against Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Monday over the continued closure of the state’s legal brothels due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In her complaint, filed by Randazza Legal Group, Little claims that sex workers have been treated unfairly as massage parlors, tattoo shops, hair salons and other high-contact businesses have been allowed to reopen while brothels remain closed. Meanwhile, her sex worker license is a property interest that Sisolak has unlawfully seized in his zeal to please out-of-state interests. Little argues this is a violation of her right to equal
Randazza Legal Group and Bit Bar go 2-0 in smacking down unconstitutional actions by Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Twice in less than a month, Bit Bar, a Salem-based arcade venue, successfully challenged the Massachusetts government in federal court for violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Randazza Legal Group filed a complaint on behalf of Bit Bar against the Massachusetts governor, Charlie Baker, in early October. In it, Bit Bar argued that Governor Baker’s decision to keep arcades closed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic but allow casinos to reopen violated the arcade’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Two days after being served with the complaint, the governor caved and allowed Bit Bar and similar businesses to re-open. While the case
RLG wins big anti-slapp victory over sahara casino on behalf of local journalist
Randazza Legal Group achieved a great victory for journalists on Tuesday when a judge granted its Anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss in the defamation lawsuit that casino hotel property Sahara Las Vegas filed against a blogger who reported last month that the property would be closing soon. Randazza Legal Group represented the blogger in the case. Marc Randazza told the Las Vegas Review Journal that the dismissal is “a good decision” that would protect journalists. “I’m not really sure why they brought this in the first place,” he said. “It was very ill-considered.” Read the full article here.
Student requests ‘diversity of thought’ training after teacher belittles him for political view
Randazza Legal Group is proud to represent 12-year-old Jackson Cody of Gloucester, Mass., who requested that the staff at O’Maley Innovation Middle School participate in ‘diversity of thought’ training after he said a teacher mocked him for supporting President Donald Trump in the upcoming election. “He is not suing anyone at this time,” Marc Randazza told the Gloucester Times on Friday. “He and his family are very community minded and have no desire to cause any unnecessary conflict.” “We do not want money, we do not want anyone fired, we only want this to stop,” Randazza wrote. According to the Gloucester Times,
Arcades reopen in Massachusetts
“I’m glad the state finally came to its senses even if it took a little help from a lawsuit,” Gideon Coltof, president of Salem’s Bit Bar told 7 News. Randazza Legal Group represents Bit Bar in that lawsuit, which challenges the Massachusetts governor’s decision to keep arcades closed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but allow casinos to reopen. In the documents filed in a federal court, Randazza Legal Group attorney Marc Randazza argues that Governor Baker’s July 6 order treats one business different than another. Casinos are allowed to be open and operate, but video arcades that do not provide gambling
The Verge Profiles T. Greg Doucette, The Lawyer Chronicling Police Brutality
Tired of people around him rationalizing police violence as the act of a few bad apples, T. Greg Doucette, a North Carolina-based criminal defense attorney, took to social media to make a clear statement that police brutality is not an isolated issue that we can ignore. Doucette posted 10 videos, 10 separate examples, of police brutality in cities across the United States on May 30. The Twitterverse sent his post into virality and ultimately, birthed an online archive of gross injustices perpetrated by those entrusted to protect and serve. Just three months later, Doucette’s original Twitter thread has more than
Massachusetts Arcade Sues Governor Over Reopening Plan
Online publication Mass Live covered the lawsuit Randazza Legal Group filed on behalf of Bit Bar. The article, in part, says: A Massachusetts arcade based in Salem, Bit Bar, is suing Gov. Charlie Baker over his coronavirus reopening plan claiming it should be allowed to open now. Bit Bar accuses the governor and the state of violating its First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, according to the lawsuit filed in a Boston federal court. Bit Bar is represented by Randazza Legal Group, PLLC based in Gloucester, Mass. “Gov. Baker reiterated that arcades would be part of Phase 3 in an order
Marc Randazza is an Opinion Writer for CNN on First Amendment issues. Here are some of his columns.
From 2012-2018, First Amendment Attorney Marc Randazza published an opinion column for CNN, regularly providing commentary and analysis on current events and cases related to free speech, Trademark and Copyright, freedom of the press, defamation and much more. See below for the articles Marc Randazza wrote for CNN during this time. 2018 Randazza: Scottish comedian’s Nazi salute dog video was awful. But it wasn’t a crime [PDF] 2017 Randazza: Even Trump has a right to free speech [PDF] The best way to respond to Las Vegas massacre [PDF] Randazza: Outrage over Google memo goes too far [PDF] Rock band The