Martha, wearing a green blouse and black pants, stands next to a large rainbow colored cutout of the Penguin Random House penguin logo

Panelists in front of a screen showing the poster for the film The Librarians

Thanks, Skip Dye, @dannovack.bsky.social, and the whole gang at @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social, for a wonderful afternoon with “The Librarians.” Keep bringing your beautiful books to the world and fighting the scourge of censorship!

When Dissent Meets Discipline: High Schools, Student Protests, and the First Amendment — SLANDERTOWN Across public high schools this year, students have walked out of class to protest federal immigration enforcement policies. Administrators have responded with warnings, suspensions, and reminders tha...

New on SLANDERTOWN: a timely analysis of campus free speech battles by Jill Dutmers.

How can schools strike a balance between honoring student speech and maintaining order?

www.slandertown.com/blog/highsch...

Only 0.03% Opt Out Of LGBTQ+ Education In Maryland After SCOTUS Gives Them A Right To After SCOTUS gave families a right to opt out of LGBTQ+ education, Montgomery County, Maryland is reporting only 43 families took them up on it.

1. 4 months ago, The Supreme Court gave families a right to opt out of LGBTQ+ education in schools.

Now, in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the case originated, the results are in.

Only 43 families out of 160,000 students have exercised that new right.

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The Art of the Libel Lawsuit: Trump vs. the WSJ — SLANDERTOWN If there’s one arena where President Trump has proven relentless, it’s the battle over public narrative. In The Art of the Deal , he writes: “When people treat me badly or unfairly or try to take adv...

New on SLANDERTOWN: "The Art of the Libel Lawsuit: Trump vs. the WSJ."

Gerry Regep explains why Donald Trump's lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal could be disastrous ... for him.

www.slandertown.com/blog/the-art...

Judge: Saratoga official Dillon Moran willfully ignored FOIL requests Judge convicts commissioner of accounts for rejecting a political rival's request for records of his cellphone and social media messages

In Saratoga Springs, an official was convicted for violating the Freedom of Information Law and charged $660. These aren't criminal charges, but still very rare to see officials penalized over FOIL violations like this www.timesunion.com/news/article...

Episode 5: Who Decides What You Read YouTube video by Roger Williams University

Thanks to the "Law 401" Podcast for having me on to talk about book bans.

We discuss First Amendment law and our recent group project: new legislation protecting the right to read in Rhode Island.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8zs...

PanelPicker | SXSW Conference & Festivals PanelPicker® is the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform. Enter ideas and vote to help shape Conference programming for SXSW and SXSW EDU.

Please vote for our SXSW Edu panel on coalition building and the RI #FreedoToRead success story! Follow the link to SXSW and click on the heart to vote! participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
#SXSWEDU #PanelPicker

Velshi Banned Book Club: Author Angie Thomas and a big win against censorship in Florida In August of 2024, a group of publishers, students, parents, and best-selling authors including Velshi Banned Book Club vets like Julia Alvarez, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jodi Picoult, and Angie Thomas filed a lawsuit against Florida for book banning provisions within House Bill 10-69, which saw 700+ beloved works of literature removed from shelves in the state. And this week, “we pushed back, and we won,” says author Angie Thomas. The freedom to read was upheld. “None of these books are obscene” wrote the judge in a 50-page decision. Books "are a gateway" to empathy, says Thomas. "They allow us to step into lives unlike our own.”

“None of these books are obscene”

A group of best-selling authors, publishers, parents & students sued over a harsh ban in FL, and this week "we pushed back, and we won,” says Angie Thomas.
Books “are a gateway” to empathy. “They allow us to step into lives unlike our own" #VelshiBannedBookClub

Judge’s Florida book ban decision is a ‘total knockout’ in censorship fight, lawyer says The judge noted some books are removed because of a single sentence without the whole work being taken into context.

“If a district did not put the books back, then they are risking a lawsuit…If you don’t do the right thing, a student or a parent or an author or publisher or an educator can vindicate their rights now.” - @dannovack.bsky.social

floridapolitics.com/archives/751...

“Historically, librarians curate their collections based on their sound discretion not based on decrees from on high.”

“…it is clear to the Court that the removal of library books without consideration of their overall value cannot be expressive activity amounting to government speech.”

Part of Florida's school book law ruled unconstitutional Siding with publishers and authors, a federal judge Wednesday ruled that a key part of a 2023 Florida law that has led to books being removed from school library shelves is “overbroad and unconstituti...

When we started FFTRP during the 21/22 SY, we were hoping our research efforts would lead to a ruling (or law) that would affirm students’ First Amendment rights.

While we expect an appeal, the judge’s 50-page order offers freedom strong footing.

www.wuwf.org/florida-news...

This is a huge victory for the tireless team at @flfreedomread.bsky.social, the intellectual freedom crew at PRH, and the authors and parents who joined the suit. Your hard work will help readers and libraries across the country. Thank you!

Likewise!

“It’s a complete knockout. There’s not a single issue that the court did not side with the plaintiffs on.”

Inspired by these incredible humans that I’ve had the privilege to get to know this year - each one out there doing the work to make the world a better place for all of us

"That’s why RadarOnline’s FOIA lawsuit might be the best shot, after all, of getting a glimpse inside the controversial records."

Today show some support to an author who is important to you. Send a message on social media or the contact form on their website. Bonus points if their books are being banned. Bonus bonus points if they're from a community that is being targeted. Cannot overstate how meaningful these notes can be.

Legal cases could prise open Epstein cache despite Trump’s blocking effort Cases winding through courts offer hope that documents could be released even if justice department declines

“In court, they insist that releasing even one additional page from the Epstein file would hurt their ability to re-prosecute Ghislaine Maxwell in the event the supreme court orders a new trial,” a spokesperson for Radar said.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

I once got suspended from twitter for a Bugs Bunny reference before the Comedy Is Now Legal Era.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

The Epstein Files Backdoor While Republicans have fled Washington in hopes that the Epstein scandal goes away, attorney Dan Novack’s FOIA battle with the F.B.I. has been wending its way through the courts. This fall, we may fin...

“The Department of Justice and F.B.I. are required to respond to my case, and the response is forthcoming, and you can expect it to be stupid, like it’s been in the past."

puck.news/one-attorney...

I spoke with The Lever about my Kafkaesque journey to obtain the Epstein Files.

It’s a gorgeous day in Boston to support the freedom to read! #MassFreedomToRead @massaabb.bsky.social @authorsabb.bsky.social

Jeffrey Epstein documents to remain secret as judge dismisses lawsuit "Americans deserve to know what happened" in Jeffrey Epstein's investigation, an attorney who helped sue the FBI told Newsweek.

I sued the FBI 8 years ago for the Epstein Files on behalf of Radar Online and James Robertson. The case is currently on appeal.

The FBI continues to insist releasing ANY Epstein files would jeopardize a (long-shot, hypothetical) re-trial of Ghislaine Maxwell.

www.newsweek.com/jeffrey-epst...

Jeffrey Epstein documents to remain secret as judge dismisses lawsuit "Americans deserve to know what happened" in Jeffrey Epstein's investigation, an attorney who helped sue the FBI told Newsweek.

I've been suing for these files under FOIA for going on 8 years:

www.newsweek.com/jeffrey-epst...

The case is currently before the 2nd Circuit. The FBI's brief is due in September.

The DOJ claims releasing ANY Epstein files would jeopardize a hypothetical retrial of Ghislaine Maxwell.

There is a FOIA lawsuit going on where they are still fighting release. I just sent you an email.

Rhode Island is poised to become a #FreedomToRead state! Our bill is headed to Governor McKee’s desk to be signed into law! Thank you yo our many FTR coalition volunteers and to the RI General Assembly & bill sponsors @davidmoralesri.bsky.social & Sen Mark McKenney!!

📢 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐋𝐆𝐁𝐓𝐐+ 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐨𝐰𝐚

A federal judge just delivered a major blow to Iowa’s 2023 censorship law, SF496. And for once, we get to say this:

New SLANDERTOWN pod!

Dan and blog contributor Isabella Jurcisin discuss her ⁠article⁠ "Undisputed Facts Sack Brett Favre’s Lawsuit Against Shannon Sharpe."

Special Guests: Sharpe's attorneys Mary Ellen Roy and Mark Fijman.

open.spotify.com/episode/3PMo...

A regular reminder to the press that it's wrong not to link to court documents when reporting about a lawsuit. This is pretty much always true and you're not going to change our mind about this.