Last week, on October 31, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in two important cases concerning the First Amendment and government agencies.  Both cases present the question of when and how First Amendment free speech standards apply to government officials in curating public comments on their social media pages.  

The cases are O’Connor-Ratcliff

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in Garnier v. O’Connor-Ratcliffe that public officials violated their constituents’ First Amendment rights by blocking them from the public officials’ social media accounts that were used for official duties.

School District Trustees Block Two Parents on Social Media

In Garnier, Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and T.J. Zane,

When does a City create a public forum for speech under the First Amendment?  When can a City restrict which flags fly on a City flagpoles?  When can a City limit religious speech under the First Amendment?  The United States Supreme Court addressed these questions in its unanimous decision in Shurtleff v. City of Boston

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution includes both an establishment clause and a free exercise clause.  Of these, the free exercise clause is often invoked in the employment context to challenge employer policies that, while facially neutral and generally applicable, incidentally burden religion.

In Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v.

This article was originally published in April 2017.  The information has been reviewed and is up-to-date as of November 2021. 

A newly-elected official is going to want to fill top posts in their organization with persons committed to the official’s vision for the future.  In the same way, a top official after a period of

In 2015, someone shot a police officer and a suspect was later arrested.  While off-duty, a SWAT sniper commented on a friend’s Facebook post which linked to an article about the shooting.  He wrote, “It’s a shame he didn’t have a few holes in him.”  An anonymous tip came in about the post, there was

Masks and face coverings have become part of the “new normal” for everyday life since the coronavirus pandemic began.  As worksites continue to reopen across California, public employers have implemented face-covering policies based on recommendations and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Equal Employment Opportunity

The post was authored by David Urban.

Controversies over free speech, disruptive protests, sharp debates among faculty, withdrawal of invitations to controversial speakers, and interference with rights of expression happen just as much at private as at public colleges and universities. The difference, however, is that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution binds