Litigation
The Institute defends the freedoms of speech and of the press through strategic litigation designed to have a meaningful impact on the law, on public policy, and on public opinion. We litigate cases that have the potential to establish important new legal principles concerning the system of free expression, to influence the practices of powerful actors in that system, and to raise public awareness about contemporary structural threats to that system. We focus especially on complex and challenging cases that relate to new technology, including new communications platforms, and we favor cases that afford us the opportunity to draw on insights generated by our research program.
Our litigation prioritizes cases in our three focus areas, Free Speech & Social Media, Transparency & Democracy, and Privacy & Surveillance.
Featured
National Association of Immigration Judges v. McHenry
A lawsuit challenging a government policy silencing immigration judges
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
-
Press Statement
Knight Institute, Reporters Committee, and a Dozen Media Organizations Argue Device Searches at Border Violate First Amendment Rights
Urge Federal Appeals Court to Require a Warrant for Device Searches
-
Press Statement
Knight Institute Sues President for Continuing to Block Twitter Critics
Says practice defies earlier court ruling, violates the First Amendment
-
Press Statement
Immigration Judges Challenge Justice Department Speech Policy
Sweeping policy prevents judges from speaking out about immigration law and policy
Our Docket
Showing 1–10 of 33
-
Lawsuit
National Association of Immigration Judges v. McHenry
A lawsuit challenging a government policy silencing immigration judges
-
-
Amicus Brief
Alasaad v. Wolf
A lawsuit challenging warrantless searches of electronic devices at the border
-
Amicus Brief
National Veterans Legal Services Program v. United States
A lawsuit challenging fees the federal judiciary charges for access to court records
-
Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. Trump
A second lawsuit challenging President Trump’s blocking of critics on Twitter
-
-
Amicus Brief
Van Buren v. United States
A Supreme Court case involving the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
-
Lawsuit
Doc Society v. Pompeo
A lawsuit challenging the State Department’s social media registration requirement
-
Lawsuit
ACLU v. CIA & Knight Institute v. DOD
Two FOIA lawsuits seeking records related to the government censorship system of "prepublication review"
-
