Month: May 2024

In April 2024, Cameron Misner ’24 (pictured center) argued before a five-judge panel at the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in an important free speech case. Cameron argued that his clients – all of whom are involved in Central New York’s metal core music scene – should be awarded attorneys’ fees for their defense against a meritless defamation suit that aimed to punish them for warning others in their music community about a colleague’s alleged sexual misconduct. Evan Deakin ’25 (left), Danielle Mimeles ’24 (not pictured), and JD exchange student Yael Iosilevich (not pictured) also worked on the case.

In April 2024, Cornell First Amendment Clinic student Sabrina Palacios, J.D. ’24, appeared at an initial status conference in the Northern District of New York, earning her the distinction of being the first student to appear before Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric in nearly five years on the bench. Magistrate Judge Lovric welcomed future participation from Cornell students. The Clinic represents a Catskills newspaper in this case, which alleges that Delaware County officials violated the paper’s First Amendment rights when they revoked the paper’s designation as an official county paper in retaliation for the paper’s coverage and when the County Attorney issued a “gag directive” prohibiting employees from freely communicating with the paper’s staff. Ms. Palacios is pictured with case teammate Matthew Hornung, J.D., ’24, and Heather Murray, Managing Attorney of the Clinic’s Local Journalism Project. Not pictured: Teammates Evan Deakin, J.D., ’25, Iain Smith, J.D., ’25, Yifei Yang, J.D. ’23, Director Mark Jackson, and Adjunct Professor Michael Grygiel.