The Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic

Heather Murray ’13 has been named to the newly created position of managing attorney of the Local Journalism Project, an initiative of Cornell Law School’s First Amendment Clinic. As managing attorney, Murray will oversee all of the legal work that the clinic does on behalf of local media outlets in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and surrounding areas.

The position was made possible by generous grants from both The Knight Foundation and the Legal Clinic Fund, a collaborative fund supported by the Abrams Foundation, Democracy Fund, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the Klarman Family Foundation.

Murray joins the clinic after practicing as a litigator in the New York offices of international law firms Seyfarth Shaw and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Prior to pursuing a legal career, Murray was a journalist working for news outlets in Westchester and New York City.

“We created the Local Journalism Project within the clinic to give even more focus and attention to our work on behalf of local media outlets,” said Mark H. Jackson, director of the First Amendment Clinic. “Bringing Heather on to oversee this work will take this initiative to another level and allow us to take on even more critical matters for our clients who are doing such essential work.”

Through its Local Journalism Project, the First Amendment Clinic has represented numerous news outlets in recent years, including VT Digger, Vermont’s largest not-for-profit news platform, in its efforts to obtain vital documents related to a major fraud committed in that state. Most recently, it was retained by the Geneva Believer, a news site in Geneva, New York, to defend it against a defamation lawsuit brought by a local construction company. The clinic recently won a ruling denying the company’s application to remove all of the news site’s prior reporting about the company.

“I am honored to come home to Cornell to join its First Amendment Clinic nearly a decade after I first worked alongside clinical professors as a student,” said Murray. “I know only too well the very real challenges facing local journalists trying to cover the actions of local and state governments, especially in these difficult economic times. I am looking forward to furthering the First Amendment clinic’s critical work in providing access to pro bono legal services to these journalists, who oftentimes have limited resources to devote to legal representation.”

Murray joins a growing staff at the First Amendment Clinic, which includes Cortelyou Kenney, associate director; and Tyler Valeska, a fellow. The clinic is engaged in a variety of cases and projects advancing the interests of free speech and freedom of the press. Its work extends across disciplines, impacting journalists, researchers, human rights advocates, political advocates, and other individuals targeted based on their expression. The clinic is in the process of hiring a New York City-based local journalism attorney, a satellite position that will enable the clinic to represent more local journalists in the New York metropolitan area.

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. It invests in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. And James L. Knight once published newspapers. Its goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which it believes are essential for a healthy democracy. It believes in freedom of expression and in the values expressed in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Legal Clinic Fund is a collaborative fund to support the growth and sustainability of legal clinics across the United States that seek to advance and defend First Amendment rights, media freedom, and transparency in their communities and nationally. The fund is generously supported by the Abrams Foundation, Democracy Fund, Heising-Simons Foundation, and The Klarman Family Foundation. The Miami Foundation serves as fiscal sponsor for the Fund.

Lawsuit against CDC yields new information about pandemic’s effects

A Cornell Law School clinic focused on freedom of the press has played a crucial role in revealing how Black and Latino people have been disproportionally affected by the coronavirus.

The First Amendment Clinic, working on behalf of its client, The New York Times, helped secure the release of previously unseen data that provides the most detailed look yet at nearly 1.5 million American coronavirus patients.

Using this data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Timespublished a front-page story in its July 6 edition that examines the significant racial inequities in infection rates in more than half the U.S. population – the most extensive survey to date.

The data, from 974 counties across the country, shows that Black and Latino people have been even more disproportionately affected by the coronavirus than previously known, regardless of age or geographic location. A similar disparity affects Native American people in certain parts of the country. Asian American people are also disproportionately impacted.

“This is a great success for information access on an issue of vital public importance at a time of public crisis,” said Cortelyou Kenney, associate director of the clinic. “But there is little to celebrate here. The data shows in stark terms what we already expected: that there is a troubling disparity in the impact this disease has had on people of color.

“The Times report, and the documents that underly it, demonstrate the urgent need for a robust public effort to protect our most vulnerable communities,” Kenney said.

The clinic and the Times filed a Freedom of Information Act request on April 14 seeking the quick release of demographic data on infected patients from the CDC. When the agency failed to respond within the 10-day statutorily-mandated time frame, the Times – with the clinic as co-counsel – filed suit May 13 in the Southern District of New York demanding the documents. The agency agreed to release the data in June as part of early litigation negotiations.

However, the report indicates significant gaps in the data, which may require more litigation or negotiation, Kenney said

“This is exactly the type of work the First Amendment Clinic looks to do for media outlets large and small,” said Mark Jackson, the clinic’s director. “Helping great journalists gain access and information to enable them to report on issues of vital concern to their readers is at the heart of our mission.”

Along with Kenney and Jackson, the clinic team includes teaching fellow Tyler Valeska and students Daniel Geller, Michael Mills, Alyssa Morones, Melissa Muse, Rob Ward and Anna Whistler. Students Sam Aber and Joel Sati also provided assistance to the effort.

The clinic is engaged in a variety of cases and projects advancing access to information and the interests of free speech, freedom of the press and transparency. Its work extends across disciplines, impacting journalists, researchers, human rights advocates, political advocates and others targeted because of their protected expression.

Cornell Clinic and Greenberg Traurig Team Up to Defend The Geneva Believer

Cornell Law School’s First Amendment Clinic and co-counsel Greenberg Traurig, LLP scored a victory last Thursday for citizen journalist Jim Meaney and his blog The Geneva Believer.  A New York judge denied a construction company’s extraordinary request for a temporary restraining order requiring that ten articles be removed from the local government-focused blog.

In a June 11, 2020 order denying the TRO, the trial court expressly affirmed that a take down order would violate the First Amendment. 

“Fighting for the right of citizen journalist Jim Meaney to report on a matter of significant public concern—how a local government conducts its business dealings—is the most recent example of the crucial work that our Local Journalism Project is doing to defend local newsgatherers,” said First Amendment Clinic Director Mark Jackson.  “Rulings like this one benefit all reporters by protecting them from efforts to stifle speech at the heart of the First Amendment’s protections.” 

Mr. Meaney is represented by Cornell Clinic Associate Director Cortelyou Kenney, Jackson, and teaching fellow Tyler Valeska, along with co-counsel Michael Grygiel of Greenberg Traurig.  Cornell Clinic student members Corby Burger, Michael Mapp, and Rob Ward also contributed to the successful opposition to the TRO.

The Geneva Believer covers local government issues in Geneva, New York.  In several articles, Mr. Meaney raised questions about construction contracts that Massa Construction Inc. had with the City of Geneva, including potential conflicts of interest of certain City Council members.  After Mr. Meaney received a cease-and-desist letter from Massa accusing him of defaming the company, he reached out to the Cornell Clinic for help.  Before the Clinic could even respond, Massa filed a defamation complaint against Meaney in state court.

When the Clinic and Grygiel requested Massa withdraw the suit on the bases of defective pleading and New York’s anti-SLAPP protections, Massa filed an amended complaint and a motion for a temporary restraining order.

“The trial court’s decision reaffirms longstanding Supreme Court precedent recognizing that orders such as the one requested by Massa are a classic example of an unconstitutional prior restraint,” said Grygiel. “Unless the case is voluntarily dismissed, we will be filing a motion to dismiss the complaint in the coming weeks. New York’s anti-SLAPP law protects people like Mr. Meaney from the chilling effect of suits brought to restrict or censor their reporting and commentary.”  Grygiel co-chairs Greenberg’s National Media and Entertainment Litigation Group.

Massa has filed a notice of appeal of the trial court’s decision to the Appellate Division.

The Cornell First Amendment Clinic is engaged in a variety of cases and projects advancing the interests of free speech and freedom of the press.  Its recently launched Local Journalism Project addresses the increasing void in legal representation facing newsgatherers and media outlets that would otherwise be precluded from engaging in expensive litigation to defend their rights and ability to do their jobs.  The Clinic’s work extends across disciplines, impacting journalists, researchers, human rights advocates, political advocates, and other individuals targeted based on their expression.