In Laredo, Texas, officials arrested local journalist and regular government critic Priscilla Villarreal for soliciting and receiving “information that has not been made public” with the "intent to obtain a benefit", a felony under a local statute. Ms. Villareal had asked a Laredo police officer for facts about two newsworthy events, which the officer shared and Ms. Villarreal then published.
Interestingly, this marked the first time the statute had been enforced, despite sitting on the books for over two decades. Ms. Villareal sued, alleging the law violated her First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
In a deeply splintered 9-7 decision, the en banc Fifth Circuit held those officials have qualified immunity from Villarreal’s First and Fourth Amendment claims.
Villarreal has filed a petition of certiorari at the Supreme Court, asking the Court to answer (1) whether it obviously violates the Constitution to arrest someone for asking government officials questions and publishing the information they volunteer and (2) whether qualified immunity is unavailable to public officials who use a state statute in a way that obviously violates the First Amendment.
Join us for a litigation update on this interesting case.
Featuring:

JT Morris, Supervising Senior Attorney, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
(Moderator) Casey Mattox, Vice President, Legal Strategy, Stand Together