Archives for Freedom To Write: USA
Phoenix, Arizona- High Court to Rule on Newspaper Suit
January 19, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee is deeply concerned about the lawsuit facing a newspaper after they printed a controversial “Letter to the Editor” on their Opinions page.
Birmingham, Alabama- “60 Minutes” Reporter Subpoenaed in Fraud Trial
January 18, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee is concerned that CBS reporter Mike Wallace has been subpoenaed for the trial of a man he interviewed in 2003.
Springfield, Illinois: New Policy Could Gag Whistleblowers
January 18, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Committee is concerned by a new directive prohibiting employees of the Illinois State Police from talking to news reporters. Although it was meant to “reinforce existing confidentiality rules,” we, and other critics of this policy, see it essentially as a gag order on potential whistleblowers.
New Orleans, Louisiana- Student Lost Suit on Drawing-Related Expulsion
January 10, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee denounces the actions of East Ascension High School toward a student expelled for drawing a picture in his own home. The drawing depicted the school surrounded by fire and guns, torches and missiles. In March 2001, Adam Porter was expelled after the picture was brought to another school by his younger brother. Adam Porter did not show the drawing to anyone, nor use it as a threat. However, he was charged with “terrorizing” and expelled.
Berkeley, California: Professor Fired After Publishing Controversial Paper
January 05, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee is concerned by the actions of University of California, Berkeley’s Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau who denied assistant professor Ignacio Chapela tenure, and later fired him, after Chapela published an anti-biotechnology paper.