A Texas woman was jailed for 'basic journalism'. Supreme Court declines case

Texas says the citizen journalist gained Facebook followers by getting police to tell her of a person who killed himself by jumping off overpass.

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court won't revive a lawsuit by a Texas-based citizen journalist who said she was wrongly arrested, a case backed by free speech advocates who say the backlash against the woman has had a chilling effect on reporters.

The court on March 23 rejected an appeal from Priscilla Villarreal, who said she was jailed for "basic journalism," asking a police officer for facts and then reporting what she was told.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, calling it a "grave error" not to take the case.

"It should be obvious that this arrest violated the First Amendment," she wrote.

Villarreal writes about Laredo, Texas, on her Facebook page, "Lagordiloca News."