Press Freedom and Qualified Immunity

The Supreme Court has declined to review the appeal of online citizen journalist Andrea Villarreal over her arrest in Texas, formally rejecting her bid after previously ordering the Fifth Circuit to revisit the case. The full Fifth Circuit had ruled 9–7 that officials were entitled to qualified immunity for the arrest under a statute later found unconstitutional, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the high court’s denial, writing, "It should be obvious that this arrest violated the First Amendment."