The government cannot ban people from taxpayer-funded vice presidential events in retaliation for their constitutionally protected speech.

This case asks whether an online business review constitutes speech about “a matter of public concern” that warrants protection under Minnesota’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act. Public Citizen, joined by the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative and ACLU of Minnesota, argue that it does because such reviews typically seek to inform the public and help consumers select goods and services. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the statutory and constitutional speech rights of Minnesotans, including consumers and other individuals who may face the threat of defamation suits for expressing their views in public.

Four Memphis residents represented by the ACLU, ACLU of Tennessee, and law firms Selendy Gay and BraunHagey & Borden are challenging the Memphis Safe Task Force’s policy and pattern of retaliation, intimidation, and harassment against observers who record Task Forceent operations, an activity protected by the First Amendment. The lawsuit also challenges the Task Force’s invocation of a Tennessee law criminalizing approaching officers within 25 feet after one warning against the plaintiffs, which burdens their ability to record Task Force activity.