Browse 23 first amendment free speech cases decided by D.C. Circuit. AI-powered summaries, holdings, and legal analysis.
Senator Rubio's Statements Protected Under First Amendment in Defamation Case
Susan Qashu v. Marco Rubio, decided by D.C. Circuit on April 10, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. This case concerns a defamation claim brought by Susan Qashu against Senator Marco Rubio. Qa...
Court Upholds FARA Disclosure Requirements Against First Amendment Challenge
Shahnaz Haeri Mehneh v. Marco Rubio, decided by D.C. Circuit on January 16, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. This case concerns a challenge to the constitutionality of the Foreign Agents Reg...
Court Dismisses KKK Act Claim Against Trump for Jan 6th Riot
DC v. Donald Trump, decided by D.C. Circuit on December 4, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The District of Columbia sued Donald Trump for violations of the Ku Klux Klan Act, alleging he inc...
Trump immune from civil liability for Jan 6th incitement claims
DC v. Donald Trump, decided by D.C. Circuit on November 27, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The District of Columbia sued Donald Trump for violations of the Ku Klux Klan Act, alleging he in...
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Claim Against Kari Lake
Michael Abramowitz v. Kari Lake, decided by D.C. Circuit on October 6, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The core dispute centered on whether Kari Lake's statements about the 2022 Arizona gub...
D.C. Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Lawsuit Against Trump Over COVID-19 Statements
Global Health Council v. Donald J. Trump (AMENDED OPINION), decided by D.C. Circuit on August 28, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of...
Union statements about member protected as opinion, not defamation
Eugene Hudson, Jr. v. American Federation of Government Employees, decided by D.C. Circuit on August 19, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Eugene Hudson, Jr., sued the American...
Eighth Circuit Upholds TikTok Ban for State Employees
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services v. Kristi Noem, decided by D.C. Circuit on July 11, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The case concerns whether South Dakota's "b...
Eighth Circuit: South Dakota's fireworks ban likely violates First Amendment
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services v. Kristi Noem, decided by D.C. Circuit on July 7, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The case concerns whether South Dakota's "Ba...
Senator's Twitter block not state action, court rules
Doc Society v. Marco Rubio, decided by D.C. Circuit on June 27, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Doc Society, sued Senator Marco Rubio for allegedly violating the First Amendm...
D.C. Circuit Allows AP Defamation Suit Against Trump Aide to Proceed
Associated Press v. Taylor Budowich, decided by D.C. Circuit on June 6, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion to dismiss a defama...
Eighth Circuit Blocks South Dakota's "Ag Gag" Law as Unconstitutional
Ryan Castaneira v. Kristi Noem, decided by D.C. Circuit on May 30, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. This case concerns whether South Dakota's "Ag Gag" law, which criminalizes the unauthorize...
Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Claims Against Kari Lake and U.S.
25-5144 Patsy Widakuswara v. Kari Lake; 25-5145 Michael Abramowitz v. Kari Lake; 25-5150 Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. v. USA; & 25-5151 Radio Free Asia v. USA, decided by D.C. Circuit on Ma...
Court Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Suit Against Kari Lake
Patsy Widakuswara v. Kari Lake & Michael Abramowitz v. Kari Lake, decided by D.C. Circuit on May 28, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. This case involves a defamation lawsuit filed by Patsy W...
Court Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Suits Against Arizona Mirror
Patsy Widakuswara v. Kari Lake; Michael Abramowitz v. Kari Lake, decided by D.C. Circuit on May 22, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. This case consolidated two appeals concerning Kari Lake's...
D.C. Circuit: Media groups lack standing to challenge "த்தி" provision
25-5150 Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. v. USA; 25-5151 Radio Free Asia v. USA; 25-5158 RFE/RL, Inc. v. Kari Lake; & 25-5144 Patsy Widakuswara v. Kari Lake, decided by D.C. Circuit on May 9, 2...
D.C. Circuit Shields RFE/RL from Defamation Suit Under Noerr-Pennington and CDA 230
RFE/RL, Inc. v. Kari Lake, decided by D.C. Circuit on May 7, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a defamation lawsuit filed by Kari L...
Court finds statements about plaintiff not defamatory per se
Patsy Widakuswara v. Kari Lake & Michael Abramowitz v. Kari Lake, decided by D.C. Circuit on May 7, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. This case involves a defamation lawsuit filed by Patsy Wi...
Court Shields RFE/RL from Defamation Suit Under Noerr-Pennington and CDA 230
RFE/RL, Inc. v. Kari Lake, decided by D.C. Circuit on May 5, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a defamation lawsuit filed by Kari L...
D.C. Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Claims by Broadcasting Networks Against US
25-5150 Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. v. USA & 25-5151 Radio Free Asia v. USA, decided by D.C. Circuit on May 5, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dist...
Court Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Suit Based on Noerr-Pennington and CDA 230
RFE/RL, Inc. v. Kari Lake, decided by D.C. Circuit on May 5, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a defamation lawsuit filed by Kari L...
D.C. Circuit Upholds FARA Against First Amendment Challenge by Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia v. USA, decided by D.C. Circuit on April 28, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Radio Free Asia's (RFA) lawsuit chal...
Court Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Suit Against Journalist
Simon Ateba v. Karoline Leavitt, decided by D.C. Circuit on April 8, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The core dispute involved a defamation lawsuit filed by Simon Ateba against Karoline Lea...
CaseLawBrief currently tracks 23 first amendment free speech cases from D.C. Circuit. This number is updated as new opinions are published.
Outcome breakdown: Defendant Win: 20, Plaintiff Win: 3.
Each case page on CaseLawBrief includes an AI-generated plain English summary, key holdings, and legal analysis. Click any case above to read its full analysis.