Clay Calvert, director of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project, was quoted in “Blac Chyna’s Lawyer Calls Release of Revenge Porn Video a Crime – But Exactly What is It?” published on Yahoo Lifestyle on Feb. 20.

Calvert comments on revenge porn and the lack of federal laws protecting victims, citing their only immediate legal recourse might be through multiple civil suits. He says there is a fine line between freedom of speech and freedom of expression and the causing of severe emotional harm and trauma to the victim.

“The defendant, the poster of these images, is often judgment-proof,” Calvert explains. “They often don’t have a lot of money. They’re often a spurned boyfriend who gets mad that his girlfriend broke up with him and blasts out these pictures. And once those images are out there, they’re out there.”

Calvert also commented in “County Withholds Autopsy Reports for Las Vegas Shooting Victims” published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Feb. 20. The article focuses on how Clark County has stopped releasing autopsy reports for all 58 victims of the Oct. 1, 2017 mass shooting, despite a district judge’s ruling that the reports are public records.

“The fact that Clark County is withholding other autopsy reports clearly goes beyond the scope of (Judge Scotti’s) order. The order pertains to one specific autopsy report,” said Calvert. “The government is erring on the side of privacy here instead of the public’s right to know, which is extremely problematic given the gravity of the shooting in Las Vegas.”

Posted: February 22, 2018
Category: College News, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project News
Tagged as: Clay Calvert, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project