Christopher Dunn

October 24, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes that the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments about an issue that regularly confronts courts but that rarely has been the subject of reported decisions: the extent to which a defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial bars courtroom spectators from engaging in expressive activity. One week earlier a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled that police officers cannot wear their uniforms at an upcoming murder trial.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

October 03, 2005 | New York Law Journal

Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes that with the decision to bar the proposed International Freedom Center from the World Trade Center site, the controversy over government's role in artistic expression has again raised substantial and unresolved First Amendment issues.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

February 28, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes that recent reports of government surveillance of political activity, which echo law-enforcement abuses from the 1960s and 1970s, prompt immediate questions about the extent to which this surveillance violates the First Amendment. Surprisingly, the case law is sparse. And what little law there is reveals the difficulty of litigating in this area.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

April 18, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes that the controversy over the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program has prompted legal proceedings around the country challenging the program's lawfulness. While none of those challenges yet has resulted in a public court decision on the validity of the program, they have spawned rulings that raise fundamental questions about the extent to which national-security considerations justify secret judicial proceedings.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read

August 22, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes that as the federal government responds aggressively to threats of international terrorism � and as it aggressively invokes that terrorism to justify a wide range of measures � the Supreme Court likely will be confronted with fundamental questions about the vitality of the First Amendment at the international border. And when it does, it will be writing on a largely blank slate.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read