The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is currently challenging the United States government in two separate cases that seek to limit the powers of border patrol agents in regards to the search of electronic devices without any suspicion of illegal…
Category: Legal
Mike Diana on the Highs and Lows of Creating Controversial Art
In conjunction with a month-long exhibit of his work in London, cartoonist Mike Diana gave an interview to Vice.com about his career. Diana initially gained the attention of a national audience when he became the first United States artist to…
Utah Mom Sues to Return Book to Library Shelves
Earlier this year Patricia Polacco’s picture book In Our Mothers’ House, which depicts a happy and racially mixed family headed by two lesbians, was placed under restricted access in a Davis, Utah, School District elementary library. The book was segregated…
EFF Wins Battle for Erotic Fiction Against Internet “Gatekeeper”
Securing a victory for constitutionally protected free speech, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has convinced online payment provider Stripe to overturn their earlier decision to suspend the account of the Nifty Archive Alliance, a “nonprofit entity that supports the Nifty Erotic…
South African President Drops Defamation Suit Against Cartoonist
South African President Jacob Zuma announced last week that he was dropping his lawsuit against cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, known by the pen-name Zapiro. Zuma brought the suit for defamation against Zapiro, along with Sunday Times publisher Avusa Media and editor…
Sedition Charges Dropped Against Aseem Trivedi
On October 12, the Maharashtra state government dropped the sedition charges against cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on advice from the advocate general. Though police were instructed to remove the charge from his case, Trivedi still faces additional charges under the Prevention…
Be Counted: How Your Membership Makes A Difference
Are you a current member of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund? If you’ve contributed your member dues in 2012, we thank you. If you haven’t renewed or have yet to join, we’re asking you to please Be Counted and…
Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Obscene Comics
In a press release issued this week, the Department of Justice announced that Christjan Bee, 36, of Monett, Missouri, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. England to possessing obscenity for a collection of comics on his computer. Government…
BE COUNTED: Join The CBLDF Today!
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund needs your support! Our program activity is increasing, and we need your membership contributions this October to help pay for this important work. Comics are threatened more frequently than you may think, and the…
Otaku: Japan’s Favorite Scapegoat — and Tourist Draw
Japan has long had a checkered relationship with its subculture of otaku, a word whose nuances cannot easily be translated to English but which more or less means “geeks whose hobbies border on the fanatic” (Ito). More often than not,…