Brechner News

Posted: July 8, 2021

Imani Jackson, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information legal fellow and CJC doctoral student, is the author of “Who Will Take Ownership of Florida High School Football Concussion Figures” published in the Journal of Civic Information, Vol. 3, No 1 (June 2021). Jackson reviewed documentation of varsity football player concussions and sport-related traumatic brain injuries at dozens of Florida high schools. According to Jackson, “The paper explores the legal creation and deference due the Florida High School Athletic Association as a regulatory body for Florida’s student-athletes, the lived experiences of sport-related brain…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Imani Jackson

Posted: June 30, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is the author of “The Supreme Court’s Cheerleader Decision Has Something to Frustrate and Disappoint Everyone” published on slate.com on June 25. In the column, LoMonte writes about the Supreme Court’s decision protecting students’ First Amendment rights on social media. He concludes that the decision was surprisingly favorable for student rights, giving some assurance that students can engage in commentary and criticism about their schools when they are off campus on personal time. However, he believes that the decision still leaves enormous questions…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Frank LoMonte

Posted: June 24, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “Supreme Court Sides with High School Cheerleader in Free-Speech Dispute Over Profane Snapchat Rant” published in The Washington Post on June 23. The article focuses on the Supreme Court’s new decision in favor of student First Amendment rights when using social media off campus. According to LoMonte, the decision left many questions unanswered, but he called it “surprisingly good.” “What’s really important about the decision is what the Court did not do,” said LoMonte. “The justices did not say that…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Frank LoMonte

Posted: June 24, 2021

Clay Calvert, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project and Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communication at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC), and Frank LoMonte, UFCJC Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director  were published in the Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Volume 65 (2021: The New First Amendment. Calvert is the author of “Curing the First Amendment Scrutiny Muddle: Through a Breyer-Based Blend Up? Toward a Less Categorical, More Values-Oriented Approach for Selecting Standards of Judicial Review.” In the article, Calvert argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should significantly alter…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Clay Calvert, Frank LoMonte, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project

Posted: June 11, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is the author of “The Legal Landscape: The First Amendment, Section 230 and Online Liability,” a chapter in the book Democracy in the Disinformation Age published in May 2021. In the chapter, LoMonte looks at the ways social media companies have benefited from strategically walking the line between “publisher” status, when the First Amendment protection afforded to publishers is advantageous to them, versus “common carrier” status, which insulates them against liability. According to LoMonte, “This chapter investigates and critiques leading theories of responsibility,…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Democracy in the Disinformation Age, Frank LoMonte

Posted: May 19, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “’Angry Cheerleader’ Case Could Chill NCAA Athletes’ Protests” published in Law360 on May 18. The article focuses on a pending U.S. Supreme Court case over whether schools may discipline students for social media posts under the First Amendment, which may give public universities the ability to further restrict college athletes’ online speech. “If the Supreme Court equips colleges with a new weapon to silence whistleblowers, they are going to use it,” said LoMonte. “They are going to use it to…

Category: Brechner News

Posted: May 18, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is the author of “When a Leak Becomes a Lifeline: Reinvigorating Federal Labor Law to Protect Media Whistleblowing About Workplace Safety” published in the Seattle Journal for Social Justice on May 14. In the article, LoMonte builds on research previously published by the Brechner Center about how gag orders on employees in the private sector are just as illegal as those in the public sector. It focuses on the health care sector and a recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board in…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Frank LoMonte

Posted: May 17, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “Secret Documents Reveal Learfield IMG’s Take From College Deals” published in Sportico on May 11. The article focuses on multimedia rights partnerships that some college sports programs have with Learfield IMG College licenses. Details of the arrangements have been kept private for the most part until now. “The trade-secret exemption is probably the single most abused and distorted of all freedom-of-information exemptions,” said LoMonte. “If open records laws mean anything at all, they mean that the public gets to see…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Frank LoMonte

Posted: May 6, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was selected for the prestigious 2021-2022 Class of Fellows at the University of California (UC) National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. The fourth class of fellows, selected from a highly competitive pool, represents graduate students and faculty from across the U.S. Over the course of a year, this cohort will research complex topics such as the roles of bias response teams, pornography and free speech, and censorship in humanities curricula and academic museums and galleries. LoMonte’s project will focus on the…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Frank LoMonte, UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement

Posted: April 27, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was quoted in “A Cheerleader’s Snapchat Rant Leads to ‘Momentous’ Supreme Court Case on Student Speech” published in The Washington Post on April 25. The story focuses on the case, Brandi Levy vs. Mahanoy Area School District, that will now be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. It could determine how the First Amendment’s protection of free speech applies to the off-campus activities of the nation’s 50 million public school students. “This may seem like a very narrow case about a minor temper…

Category: Brechner News

Posted: April 22, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was a participant in the podcast “So to Speak: A Frustrated Cheerleader’s Snapchat Video Lands at the Supreme Court. The Outcome will Determine the Future of Student Free Speech Rights” posted on thefire.org on April 22. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE) So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast discussion featured LoMonte, FIRE’s Vice President of Communications Nico Perrino and FIRE Program Officer Lindsie Rank, discussing the April 28 U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. The…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Frank LoMonte

Posted: April 20, 2021

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was quoted in “Want Public Records? ‘So Sue Me’ Seems to Be State’s Attitude, First Amendment Experts Say” published in the Tallahassee Democrat on April 16. The article focuses on the delays encountered when requesting Florida public records for vital information on COVID-19. “It really has come down to the public insisting on greater transparency. In the absence of fact-based verifiable information, the time of a public health emergency is the time to double down on transparency and assertively push out information,” said…

Category: Brechner News