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
American Association of University Professors v. Rubio
A case challenging the Trump administration’s policy of ideological deportation.
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Press Statement
Immigration Judges Ask Supreme Court to Review Case Challenging Federal Policy Silencing Their Speech
Court should allow judges to pursue legal challenge in federal court, Knight Institute says
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Press Statement
Knight Institute Asks Federal Appeals Court to Order the Release of Special Counsel’s Report in Trump Classified Documents Case
In separate filing, Institute tells Judge Aileen Cannon that she lacks jurisdiction to order the destruction of the report, which President Trump’s co-defendants have asked her to do
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Our Docket
Showing 81–88 of 88
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Amicus Brief
Democratic National Committee v. Russian Federation
A lawsuit against WikiLeaks implicating important press freedoms
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Amicus Brief
Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media
A Supreme Court case addressing the scope of FOIA’s exemption for confidential commercial information
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Amicus Brief
Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck
A Supreme Court case involving free speech on private property
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Amicus Brief
Raimondo v. FBI
A Ninth Circuit case addressing the scope of the Privacy Act’s protections for free expression
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Amicus Brief
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. DOJ
A FOIA lawsuit seeking proactive disclosure of the Office of Legal Counsel’s secret legal opinions
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Lawsuit
Davison v. Randall
A lawsuit challenging a local government official’s blocking of a critic on Facebook
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Amicus Brief
Carpenter v. United States
A Supreme Court case challenging warrantless access to cellphone location data
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