Local First Amendment scholar David L. Hudson, Jr. – an occasional guest contributor to this blog whose First Amendment resume rivals anyone alive (Ombudsman for the First Amendment Center, Legal Fellow for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Professor of First Amendment Law at Vanderbilt Law School, etc.) – has penned an excellent piece over at Slate calling on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy to undo the damage of Garcetti v. Ceballos—one of the worst First Amendment decisions in the Supreme Court’s modern history.
Decided in 2006, the Supreme Court’s contentious 5-4 decision in Garcetti upended previously settled law regarding the First Amendment rights of public employees. The Court’s majority opinion—authored by Justice Kennedy—stands for the general proposition that even if public employees are exposing governmental misconduct or speaking about matters of unquestioned public importance, they have no First Amendment protection whatsoever for any speech made pursuant to their official duties. As Hudson explains:
“In Garcetti, the Supreme Court created a categorical rule: ‘When public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline.'”
The consequences of Garcetti have been devastating, falling particularly hard on whistleblowers and other public employees who have sought to expose official misconduct. Professor Hudson’s full piece (accessible here) is well worth the read, and for the public’s sake, one can only hope that Justice Kennedy will take notice.
Questions about this article? Email Daniel Horwitz at [email protected].
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