Court considers whistleblower free speech rights

Headline News

When Edward Lane testified about corruption at a community college program he headed in Alabama, he was fired.

The Supreme Court on Monday considered whether the First Amendment protects Lane and millions of other public employees from job retaliation when they offer testimony about government misconduct in court.

The high court has previously ruled that the constitutional right to free speech protects public workers only when they speak out as citizens, not when they act in their official roles.

Most justices appeared to side with Lane's view that court testimony revealing official misconduct should be constitutionally protected even if it covers facts a government employee learned at work.

But the justices struggled over whether that protection should automatically cover all public workers, even police officials or criminal investigators whose job duties require them to testify in court about specific cases.

Related listings

  • High court to hear dispute about TV over Internet

    High court to hear dispute about TV over Internet

    Headline News 04/21/2014

    Thirty years ago, big media companies failed to convince the Supreme Court of the threat posed by home video recordings. Now they're back — and trying to rein in a different innovation that they say threatens their financial well-being. The battle ha...

  • India's top court recognizes third gender category

    India's top court recognizes third gender category

    Headline News 04/15/2014

    India's top court on Tuesday issued a landmark verdict recognizing transgender rights as human rights, saying people can identify themselves as a third gender on official documents. The Supreme Court directed the federal and state governments to incl...

  • SC Supreme Court hears appeal in fatal dog attack

    SC Supreme Court hears appeal in fatal dog attack

    Headline News 04/15/2014

    Prosecutors want South Carolina's highest court to reinstate the conviction of a Dillon County man whose dogs attacked and killed a 10-year-old boy in 2006. The state Supreme Court on Tuesday hears an appeal in the case of Bentley Collins. In 2012, t...

New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC

Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.

Business News

New York & New Jersey Family Law Matters We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights. >> read