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When a government body opens up a forum to the public, they’re allowed to place some restrictions on speech. Those restrictions typically come in the form of time limits, preventing a speaker from exceeding the allotted time to the point where it begins to disrupt the meeting and that government body’s ability to conduct its business, according to Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition.
Any restrictions on public speech should be “reasonable and viewpoint neutral,” he said. “So there are restrictions that can be placed, that are First Amendment-friendly, that allow this government body to conduct its business, but still provide an opportunity for citizens to speak,” said Silverman, who is also an adjunct professor at the University of Maine School of Law. [...]
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