Prosecutors in Texas dismissed charges last week against a teacher caught exchanging explicit text messages with a middle school student, claiming the texts were constitutionally protected.

NEW YORK—The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier today tossed out key parts of New York City’s law requiring pregnancy centers to post signs saying they do not offer abortion referrals. That provision is a violation of the centers’ free speech, the court ruled.

A baker in suburban Denver must make cakes for same-sex weddings or face fines, according to a judge’s ruling last week. 

Judge Robert N. Spencer denied the bakery owner’s claim that he was exercising his freedoms of religion and speech when he told a gay couple he would not make their wedding cake. Spencer instead ordered him to “cease and desist from discriminating” or face fines ranging from $50 to $500 per person per incident, according to the bakery owner’s attorney.

A longtime Santa Clara, Calif., employee was reprimanded last month after a co-worker overheard her critiquing Obamacare’s problematic rollout during a break-time chat. 

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal in a college free speech case that pitted a conservative newspaper against school administrators at Oregon State University (OSU), letting a lower court’s ruling stand. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that university officials violated the independent paper’s constitutionally protected freedoms when they confiscated and destroyed its distribution bins. 

A California school district attempted to stop its teachers from attending the “See You at the Pole” (SYATP) student-led prayer gathering this week, initially claiming the teachers’s attendance would be unconstitutional before reversing its decision the day before the event.