Local Governments Face First Amendment Challenges to Coronavirus Emergency Orders
3/27/20
By: Andy Treese
Can the government ban public gatherings, church services, political rallies, or protests during a global pandemic? The question isn’t hypothetical. Federal, state and local officials across the United States are struggling to prepare appropriate emergency orders targeted …
Our Employee Said What Online? Public Entities and Employee Speech in the Digital Age
9/22/16
By: Paul H. Derrick
Unlike their private-sector counterparts, employees of municipalities, counties, and other public entities have work-related free speech rights that enjoy varying levels of First Amendment protection. Supreme Court law is clear on that broad point, although its …
2/4/16
By: Wes Jackson
Does the First Amendment protect citizens’ speech and association, or does it prohibit the government’s retaliation to such conduct? At first glance, these goals would appear to be two sides of the same coin—citizens’ free speech is …
