Protests, the Press, and First Amendment Rights Before and After the “Floyd Caselaw”
Peter Jacobs * | 24.2 | Comment | Citation: Peter Jacobs, Protests, the Press, and First Amendment Rights Before and After the “Floyd Caselaw”, 24 U. Pa. J. Const. L. 591 (2022).
During the protests that followed George Floyd’s death at the hands of law enforcement in 2020, a number of journalists were arrested on the job. Some legal observers interpreted these arrests as not only abrogating long-standing ground rules that guide interactions between media and law enforcement, but also blatantly violating journalists’ constitutional protections. In response, a series of journalists fired back with lawsuits, asserting that their constitutional rights—as guaranteed by federal civil rights statutes—were violated by law enforcement officers. Collectively referred to as the “Floyd Caselaw” by one federal judge, these cases present a compelling portrait as to the status of First Amendment rights in the United States, and hint at broader acceptance of judicially-recognized press rights.
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* Peter Jacobs is a 2022 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., and served as Comments Editor for Volume 24 of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. Previously, he received his B.A. in 2013 from Cornell University. He would like to extend enormous thanks to Professor Seth Kreimer for his guidance on the scope and content of the work that became this Comment. He also offers thanks to JCL's stellar editors, including Jessica Rizzo, Katie McKeen, and Dana Dyer; and, as always, to Rebecca, and his family.