A recent case has made clear that a government agency’s ceasing doing business with a company based on the viewpoints of the company’s owners can lead to First Amendment liability for the agency. Earlier this year, in Riley’s American Heritage Farms v. Elsasser, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the
Federal Appeals Court Broadens Scope of Law Enforcement Officer First Amendment Rights
On Wednesday, August 21, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Dahlia v. Rodriguez that a Burbank police detective could assert a First Amendment retaliation claim based on his allegedly having complained to authorities about abusive interrogation tactics at his department. The case is significant because it expressly overturns a