Retaliatory Arrests and Prosecution
In a 1944 case involving self-incrimination, Supreme Court Justice Hugo
Black focused on the connection between the First Amendment and other
provisions in the Bill of Rights protecting people’s liberties.
Hartman v. Moore (2006) said that those who allege their First Amendment
rights are being retaliated against must prove there is no probable cause
for the retaliation.
Lozman v. Riviera Beach, Florida (2018) dealt with retaliatory arrests for
First Amendment-protected speech after a man was arrested during a city
council meeting.
The Supreme Court in 2019 ruled that most claims of arrest in retaliation
for speech protected by the First Amendment would fail if there was
probable cause for the arrest. However, in Nieves v. Bartlett, the Court
held that there could be an exception if someone similarly situated who did
not engage in protected speech was not arrested.
In Reichle v. Howards (2012), the Court said there was not a First
Amendment right to be free from a retaliatory arrest that is supported by
probable cause
In Wayte v. United States (1985), the Supreme Court upheld the prosecution
methods for not registering for the draft against a due process and First
Amendment challenge.
