Monday, February 08, 2021
#FREESPEECH in the News February 8, 2021
As the Citadel of Free Speech here in Cleveland, we work to protect and promote the basis of our democracy by sharing related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century. Here's what's making the news – and what you should know about – in the past week.
1.) Federal judge connects former superintendent’s retaliation to lobbyist’s free speech rights
With a federal lawsuit against former state schools Superintendent Steve Paine set for trial March 30, the judge has already determined Paine may well have violated the free speech of a lobbyist while complaining to a national standardized testing company. The jury will still be asked to determine how lobbyist Jason Webb’s free speech rights were affected when Paine cited his state authority by repeatedly complaining to executives at ACT, which Webb was contracted to represent.
U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver ruled last week that Webb’s criticism of Paine and state education policies were protected — and that there was a direct line to Paine’s retaliation.
What remains for a jury to decide is whether the superintendent’s retaliation actually resulted in chilling Webb’s speech. Or, as the issue is stated in court, “that the defendant’s alleged retaliatory action adversely affected the plaintiff’s constitutionally-protected speech.”
2.) Biden may have trouble cracking down on domestic terrorism because of free speech and the FBI
In the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, amid a recognition that political violence is spiking in the U.S., the Biden administration is now looking at how to overhaul the federal government's approach to domestic terrorism, now considered a top threat to the homeland. The attack on the Capitol fits the legal definition of domestic terrorism, the Congressional Research Service and others have concluded.
Mainstream civil liberties groups are also concerned: More than 100 of them sent a letter to Congress last month opposing new domestic terrorism legislation over concerns it would empower the government to target "marginalized communities."
The FBI has been acutely sensitive to any criticisms of political spying since it was buffeted by scandals in the 1970s that exposed illegal surveillance of anti-Vietnam War activists, the Black Power movement, Martin Luther King Jr. and others. As former counterterrorism prosecutor Richard Zabel has pointed out, however, the Supreme Court held in a 1969 decision, Brandenburg v. Ohio, that if a speaker urges others to use force with words "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action," and likely to do so, that speech is not protected.
Los Angeles officials on Monday expressed anger at anti-vaccine protesters who temporarily blocked the vaccine distribution center at Dodger Stadium on Saturday and said they hoped to avoid future disruptions.
Solis said authorities will set up space for protesters in the future who can share their viewpoints but “won’t disrupt” the traffic flow.
“I was very upset and disheartened,” L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said of the disruption to the vaccination efforts. ”I understand people have 1st Amendment rights. … But when you become disruptive and actually create more problems through congestion, traffic jams or hostility in a manner that is not conducive, then I would want to have our public safety officials involved and to be there to protect all that are involved,” Solis said.
