Clinic News
“The right to know in a democracy frequently depends on the demand to know by the media.” Ambassador Willam vanden Heuval
Clinic Files Lawsuit Against Idaho for Book Censorship Law
February 11, 2025 - Cornell’s First Amendment Clinic filed a groundbreaking lawsuit in federal court in Idaho against the Idaho attorney general, county prosecutors, and others challenging the state’s law restricting public and school libraries from making constitutionally protected literary works available to minors. The Clinic is representing the Donnelly, Idaho Public Library District, public school librarian Christie Nichols, […]
Clinic Represents First Amendment Scholars to Protect Student Speech Rights in Sixth Circuit Appeal
February 11, 2025 - The First Amendment Clinic filed a brief of amici curiae in December in D.A. v. Tri County Area Schools in the Sixth Circuit supporting two middle school students who were punished for their in-school political speech. Represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (“FIRE”), the students sued their Michigan school district for forcing […]
Clinic and RCFP Unseal Settlement Records of Prison Healthcare Contractor in Wrongful Death Suit
October 26, 2024 - Settlement records that our Clinic and co-counsel Paula Knudsen Burke at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press have successfully unsealed on behalf of the Bucks County Courier Times demonstrate that prison healthcare contractor PrimeCare Medical and Bucks County have paid out $3.8 million to settle wrongful death claims involving allegations of inadequate healthcare […]
In Groundbreaking Lawsuit, Streetsblog NYC Alleges Agency Has ‘Policy or Practice’ of Violating Records Law
September 19, 2024 - NEW YORK, N.Y. – Streetsblog NYC, represented by the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, filed a groundbreaking lawsuit last week against the New York City Department of Transportation, alleging that DOT systematically violates the state’s Freedom of Information Law by forcing nearly everyone who seeks public records to wait six months before receiving any […]
Clinic Student Argues Before Five-Judge Panel at Appellate Division Fourth Department
May 1, 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 […]
Clinic Student Appears on Behalf of Newspaper Client at NDNY Status Conference
May 1, 2024 - 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 […]
Clinic Publishes Op-Ed on Judicial Transparency
April 4, 2024 - Clinic Director Mark Jackson and Local Journalism Project Managing Attorney Heather Murray recently published an Op-Ed in the Albany Times Union to amplify the efforts of journalist Janon Fisher to shed light on the judicial appointment process in NYC. While the trial court in the Clinic’s public records suit ruled that candidate applications for appointed judgeships […]
Clinic Alum Argues to Unseal Settlement Records in Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Suit
February 27, 2024 - Cornell First Amendment Clinic alum Connor Flannery ’23 argued in the Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County, on February 26, 2023, seeking access to sealed settlement agreements on behalf of local journalism client The Patriot News/PennLive. The Clinic’s client seeks access to the settlement agreements in a wrongful death suit to shed further light on […]
Clinic Kicks Off Another Semester with Spring 2024 Bootcamp
February 7, 2024 - The Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic kicked off the Spring 2024 semester with another informative and inspiring Bootcamp. This Bootcamp treated five new Clinic students and ten returning students to three days of learning and discussion. Speakers included speaker Daniel Novack, Vice President, Associate General Counsel at Penguin Random House, on ongoing legal challenges […]
Clinic Represents New York Newspaper in First Amendment Retaliation Suit
January 1, 2024 - The Clinic filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in December 2023 against Delaware County on behalf of Catskills-based newspaper The Reporter. The suit claims that county officials violated the paper’s constitutional rights in de-designating it as an official paper and in issuing what has amounted to […]