First Amendment Won Out In This One.
According to an article in the May 20, 2021 issue of The Orange County Register (online version here), Fullerton City’s Council last week voted to settle a lawsuit it filed against two bloggers for publishing certain information which the City claimed was stolen (later found out not to be so). A lower court had issued gag orders against the bloggers, but an appellate court overturned them because they amounted to impermissible First Amendment prior restraints. In settling the suit, the City agreed to pay $230,000 in legal fees as well as $60,000 to the two bloggers.