A Lawyer has a First Amendment Right to Blog about His Own Cases
This just in from Bob Ambrogi's Lawsites blog:
A three-judge panel in Virginia has issued a decision that is important for lawyer-bloggers everywhere. The panel ruled that a lawyer has a First Amendment right to blog about his own cases, at least with regard to information that is already available on the public record. (Needless to say, you should never blog about privileged client information.)
The ruling came in the case of Richmond criminal defense lawyer Horace F. Hunter, who was hit with disciplinary charges by the Virginia State Bar over his criminal law blog where he wrote about cases he had handled and other criminal-law issues. Last October, the bar gave Hunter a public admonition over his blogging and ordered him to add a disclaimer stating that his blog is advertising. Hunter appealed the bar’s determination, asserting that it violates his First Amendment rights.
In a decision last week, the Portsmouth Circuit Court sided with Hunter, overturning the finding of misconduct under Rule 1.6, which governs confidentiality of client information. The court concluded that the finding violated the First Amendment.
Read Court Says 1st Amendment Protects Lawyer’s Blogging
and Lawyer Disciplined for Blogging About Client Cases Without Permission
