Score a victory for free speech on social media. In case you missed it, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond recently overturned a lower court decision in a closely watched lawsuit involving First Amendment protections on social media (Bland v. Roberts 12-1671). The suit centered on state employees of a sheriff’s officeRead… Read more »
If this were a State of the Union address, the takeaway may appear disheartening: the state of government-media relations is not strong. In fact, it never has been a harmonious relationship and appears to be getting worse due to a variety of factors. All government employees, as well as the general public, should understand theRead… Read more »
Last month, I wrote about the importance of government employees and the Hatch Act. Today, I wanted to spend some time talking about Freedom of Speech and what kind of protections public sector employees are entitled to under the First Amendment. Over the years, Courts have made a clear distinction between the rights entitled toRead… Read more »
My conclusion (and this isn’t a legal opinion so don’t take it as such) is that the Courts may not view social media sites as a public forum. They may even go so far as to say it is government speech. I will say that the following from the Washington State Attorney General’s facebook pageRead… Read more »