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
Roth v. Trump
A lawsuit challenging President Trump’s policy of expelling reporters from the White House.
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Press Statement
Trump’s “Ban on the Free Press” Violates the First Amendment Rights of Ordinary Citizens, New Lawsuit Says
Plaintiffs say the president’s viewpoint-based expulsions of journalists from White House press facilities deprives the public of independent reporting about the president
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Press Statement
Knight Institute Welcomes Ruling Barring Trump Administration From Punishing Disfavored News Organizations
Ruling bars Trump from expelling journalists from White House on the basis of their coverage of him
Our Docket
Showing 71–80 of 104
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records concerning the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ digitization and surveillance of mail
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FOIA Lawsuit
ACLU v. CIA & Knight Institute v. DOD
Three FOIA lawsuits seeking records related to the government censorship system of "prepublication review"
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Amicus Brief
Egbert v. Boule
A Supreme Court case addressing the scope of Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics
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Amicus Brief
City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, Inc.
A Supreme Court case challenging a city sign code that permits on-premises but not off-premises signs to be digitized.
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. DHS
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records relating to searches of electronic devices at the U.S. border
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Lawsuit
ACLU v. United States
A motion asserting a right of access to opinions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
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Amicus Brief
United States v. Abu Zubaydah
A Supreme Court case in which the government has invoked the state secrets privilege over testimony about the torture of Abu Zubaydah
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute and Committee to Protect Journalists v. CIA
A FOIA lawsuit for records concerning the U.S. government's "duty to warn" journalist Jamal Khashoggi