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Clinic News Archive

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“The right to know in a democracy frequently depends on the demand to know by the media.” Ambassador Willam vanden Heuval



Cornell First Amendment Clinic Secures Reinstatement of McCorkle and Maclean to Geneva Police Budget Advisory Board

December 12, 2022 - GENEVA, N.Y. – The Geneva City Council reinstated James McCorkle and Robert Maclean to the City’s Police Budget Advisory Board Wednesday evening, December 7, 2022. Cornell Law School’s First Amendment Clinic negotiated the reinstatement on behalf of McCorkle and Maclean after the two Board members were removed over the summer. The City Council approved a […]


Cornell Clinic and RCFP Win Access to Wrongful Death Suit Settlement Records on Behalf of York Daily Record

August 18, 2022 - Pennsylvania news outlet the York Daily Record successfully obtained the unsealing of records in August demonstrating that York County and prison healthcare contractor PrimeCare Medical, Inc. defendants settled a wrongful death suit brought by the estate of Veronique Henry for $200,000. York County previously disclosed that its portion of the settlement was $5,000 and had […]


Clinic Client Publishes Op-Ed on Need for Transparency in Uvalde Shooting Investigation

June 3, 2022 - Freelancer Michelle Garcia published a powerful op-ed in The Daily Beast on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, regarding the need for transparency in the investigation into the Uvalde school shooting. The op-ed highlights the public records access work that the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic and the SMU Dedman School of Law First Amendment Clinic have […]


Clinic Files Lawsuit to Obtain Buffalo Bills Stadium Study

April 25, 2022 - On behalf of Buffalo-based nonprofit investigative journalism center Investigative Post, the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic filed an Article 78 petition against Erie County in March 2022 seeking the disclosure of documents regarding the current home of the Buffalo Bills, Highmark Stadium. Investigative Post published an article about the lawsuit here, and an update […]


Clinic Students Go Behind the Scenes with Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal

April 25, 2022 - On Thursday, March 24, 2022, Clinic students and faculty had the privilege of meeting with an all-star team of reporters, lawyers, and standards editors from the Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones.  During the virtual meeting – the Clinic’s semi-annual “newsroom visit” – students learned about the Wall Street Journal’s approach to […]


Cornell First Amendment Clinic and ACLU of Oklahoma File Amicus Brief Supporting Challenge to Oklahoma Anti-Protest Bill

March 29, 2022 - The Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic and ACLU of Oklahoma filed an amicus brief on behalf of Oklahoma City-based social justice organization Collegiate Freedom & Justice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in support of a constitutional challenge to a recently-enacted Oklahoma anti‑protest bill, HB 1674. This bill restricts individuals’ […]


Jackson Alumni Award

January 29, 2022 - Congratulations to Lindsey Ruff – the first recipient of the Jackson Distinguished Alumni Award from the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, named for Clinic Founder, Mark Jackson.  “Lindsey continues to make a real — and lasting — contribution to the work of the Cornell First Amendment Clinic and the First Amendment itself,” praised Jackson. “A true trailblazer.”


Clinic Student argues in the 4th Department

December 2, 2021 - Ashley Stamegna, a student at the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, argued an appeal before a panel of New York’s Appellate Division, Fourth Department on Ashley made the compelling, important case that our client, The Batavian, should have been granted access to an attorney disqualification motion in a family court matter and now should […]


Bruce Brown, Executive Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press visits Cornell

October 27, 2021 - The Clinic is grateful to Bruce Brown, Executive Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for coming up to Ithaca this past week to address our law school and university communities on critical free speech issues of the day. Brown also gave a special presentation to our First Amendment Clinic students in […]


First Amendment Clinic Scores Amicus Victory in Request to Unseal EB-5 Records

October 5, 2021 - Days after filing an amicus brief in federal court on behalf of the Vermont Journalism Trust concerning the largest financial fraud in Vermont’s history, Cornell Law School’s First Amendment Clinic, Cornell Dolan, and the ACLU of Vermont won access to documents that had previously been sealed by the court. These documents may shine a light […]