A lawsuit aimed at ending Baltimore’s use of non-disclosure agreements in police misconduct settlements was heard in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond on Wednesday, the highest court so far to consider the First Amendment challenge brought by plaintiff Ashley Overbey and this website.
Overbey, who was beaten, punched, kicked and Tased by police responding to her 2014 report of a burglary, lost half her settlement after she responded to online comments on a news story about her case.
Baltimore Brew‘s efforts to report on these police misconduct cases, the lawsuit argues, have been hampered by the so-called “gag orders” – agreements requiring plaintiffs never to speak publicly about the case in order to receive a monetary settlement.
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