Clinic News Archive
“The right to know in a democracy frequently depends on the demand to know by the media.” Ambassador Willam vanden Heuval
Clinic Secures Access to Dangerous Driving Records for News Outlet Streetsblog
November 30, 2023 - After filing suit months ago against the NYC DOT on behalf of news outlet Streetsblog to seek access to basic information that is key to assessing the City’s pilot program aimed at curbing dangerous driving, the DOT produced documents to our client on Thanksgiving eve. Thanks to Clinic alumna Yifei Yang for her excellent work […]
Fall 2023 First Amendment Clinic Bootcamp
August 31, 2023 - What a great start-of-the-semester Bootcamp on Saturday, August 19, 2023, for our incoming students in the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic! Our students were treated to talks by the likes of Anne Galloway, Tim Cornell, Clinic Local Journalism Project Managing Attorney Heather Murray and recent alumnus Andrew Gelfand on the state of local news […]
Clinic Client Launches Wage Theft Monitor
August 31, 2023 - New York news outlet Documented launched its Wage Theft Monitor, the largest public repository of data on New York businesses found guilty of wage theft, in August 2023. The Clinic worked hand-in-hand with Documented over the past four years to secure data from the New York Department of Labor via a lawsuit and subsequent negotiations surrounding […]
Clinic Files Lawsuit Challenging Gag Order as Unconstitutional
June 22, 2023 - NEWFANE, NY – On June 21, 2023, Cornell Law School’s First Amendment Clinic filed a lawsuit in Niagara County Supreme Court on behalf of Tracy Murphy, animal rights activist and founder of Asha’s Farm Sanctuary in Newfane New York. The suit, an Article 78 petition, challenges a gag order Newfane Town Court Justice Bruce Barnes […]
Clinic Secures Reversal of School District Policy that Silenced Committee Members
April 17, 2023 - In March 2023, New York’s Pittsford Central School District reversed a policy which mandated that all members of District committees “remain positive and supportive of the District and Committee at all times and in all settings.” The change came after an Inclusivity Advisory Committee member raised First Amendment concerns about the policy and retained the […]
Clinic Settles Appeal of Citizen Journalist’s Anti-SLAPP Win and Attorneys’ Fees Award in Geneva
January 19, 2023 - Last month, Cornell Law School’s First Amendment Clinic and co-counsel Greenberg Traurig LLP finalized a settlement agreement which allows citizen journalist James Meaney of Geneva, New York, to stand by his investigative reporting on local construction company Massa Construction, Inc. This agreement resolves a lawsuit Massa brought against Meaney and his watchdog blog The Geneva Believer […]
Clinic Wins Dismissal of Libel Suit Against Rutgers University Professor
December 21, 2022 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal judge yesterday dismissed in full a defamation and conspiracy lawsuit the Hindu American Foundation (“HAF”) brought last year against Rutgers University Associate Professor and human rights activist Audrey Truschke and four other activists. The Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic and co-counsel Davis Wright Tremaine LLP represented Dr. Truschke in […]
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 […]