First Amendment court tracker, 2025:
Dominion Voting Machines v Newsmax — April 8 — A Delaware judge denied a motion for summary judgment by Newsmax Corp., which means a multi-million dollar defamation trial will start on April 28 — unless Newsmax settles out of court with Dominion. A similar last-minute pre-trial settlement took place in Dominion v Fox, in April of 2023. And a similar defamation case brought by Smartmatic voting machines company against Fox is also headed for court in April. Newsmax settled with Smartmatic for $40 million on March 13, 2025.
Associated Press access to White House — April 8 — The Trump White House can’t punish the The Associated Press for news coverage and geographic terminology that Trump dislikes, a federal judge said Tuesday. The injunction by Judge Trevor McFadden was a major blow to the administration’s efforts to curtail the AP’s access to the White House. (CNN, AP, NPR )
Court won’t reconsider Sullivan — March 24 — The Supreme Court denied certiorari to a petition brought Steve Wynn, a former casino owner and Republican party figure. The petition asked the court to overturn the 1964 Supreme Court defamation ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan, a landmark libel case that makes it difficult for a public figure to pursue a defamation claim. Wynn had argued that the Sullivan standard “is a relatively new feature of libel law.” (Reuters)
