A “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation” (a SLAPP-suit) filed by three City of Fayetteville, Tennessee, Aldermen against two citizens who petitioned them must be dismissed with prejudice, the Circuit Court for Lincoln County, Tennessee, has ruled. The Court also awarded the two citizens “their court
Horwitz Law, PLLC client Sophia Johnston—a devout Muslim woman who was illegally required to remove and be photographed without wearing her hijab after being arrested for a minor (since-dismissed) criminal charge in August 2023—has reached a settlement with Rutherford County, Tennessee. As part of her
Former District 35 Councilman Dave Rosenberg has been awarded $100,000.00 in sanctions after earlier prevailing against a defamation lawsuit filed by failed Tennessee House candidate and former District 35 challenger Michelle Foreman. A copy of the Court's sanctions order—the largest sanction ever awarded
Two TBI agents and District Attorney W. Ray Crouch have paid $125,000.00 to Joshua Garton to settle his claims for malicious prosecution, false arrest, and violations of his First Amendment rights. The settlement payment comes almost three years after Tennessee’s top law enforcement agency
In a pair of separate opinions issued today, the Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling by Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle in favor of Plaintiffs Amy Frogge, Fran Bush, and Jill Speering, all represented by Horwitz Law, PLLC. The ruling arose out of a lawsuit
The Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, Registry of Election Finance “is in contempt of court,” a senior Chancery Court judge has found. The finding arose from the Registry’s willful collection of $64,000.00 in PAC fees in violation of a permanent injunction prohibiting
When Nashville woman Leah Gilliam purchased a vanity plate to celebrate her interests in astronomy and gaming, it did not occur to her that her constitutionally protected speech could land her in jail. Due to the Tennessee Department of Revenue's determination—more than a decade
In a precedent-setting, unanimous ruling, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has affirmed the first trial court judgment ever issued under the Tennessee Public Participation Act, Tennessee's recently enacted anti-SLAPP statute. The ruling establishes several critical precedents for free speech law in Tennessee, and it
In an order issued earlier this afternoon, Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled in favor of Plaintiffs Amy Frogge, Fran Bush, and Jill Speering, who earlier this year sued Metro and ex-MNPS Director Shawn Joseph over the legality of the School Board censorship
In a unanimous panel opinion, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has affirmed a ruling by Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle that two of Tennessee's campaign finance statutes unlawfully discriminate against non-partisan speakers and violate the First Amendment. As a result, the