Appeals court to decide if First Amendment should have protected Laredo’s “big crazy lady” from arrest

Priscilla Villarreal is seeking to sue Laredo police after she was arrested for posting information that had not been officially released. (Credit: Saenz Photography)

It is unusual for all 16 judges of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to convene and hear a case. This month, they will do so to consider a lawsuit involving a foul-mouthed Latina firebrand known as La Gordiloca, an unlikely citizen journalist who has upended politics as usual in her border town of Laredo.

Her case pits the First Amendment against qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that shields public officials from being sued individually unless they’ve violated a “clearly established” constitutional right. Although it involves a freelance, untrained citizen journalist, the case has widespread implications for journalism in Texas and beyond. A similar case is already working its way up through the courts in Fort Bend County.