IS CENSURING A LEGISLATOR A FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATION?

• Author: Root, Damon
• Position: LAW - Houston Community College System v. Wilson

IN 2018, THE Houston Community College (HCC) System Board of Trustees, a ninemember elected body, censured one of its own members for "inappropriate conduct." According to that trustee, the reprimand violated his right to freedom of speech. This term the U.S. Supreme Court is considering the merits of that claim in Houston Community College System v. Wilson.

Trustee David Buren Wilson objected to some of the HCC board's decisions, including its vote to fund a campus in Qatar. Wilson voiced his displeasure in local news outlets, published a website that cataloged his criticisms, orchestrated a robocall campaign against the board, hired a private investigator to probe the HCC and a fellow trustee, and sued the board four times. After the board censured him, he sued again, this time on free speech grounds.

In April 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit agreed with Wilson that "a reprimand against an elected official for speech addressing a matter of public concern is an actionable First Amendment claim." That ruling did not sit well with eight other 5th Circuit judges, who later argued that a full sitting of the appellate court should have reheard the case.

Judge Edith Jones, joined by Judges Don Willett, James Ho, Kyle Duncan, and Andrew Oldham, faulted the panel for upending freedom of speech. "The First Amendment was never intended to curtail...