New England First Amendment Coalition | | | | If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to a colleague or friend. If someone forwarded you this newsletter, please subscribe! | | | |
Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said police transparency and accountability are essential. “That is what builds trust between communities and the police departments that serve them," Silverman said. "When we have secrecy, that acts against the mutual interest we have with our police departments.”
▶ Watch Interview
| | |
NEFAC President Gregory Sullivan, an expert in First Amendment law, said there are some limits on free speech. Laws that prohibit harassment, true threats, defamation, obscenity and child pornography have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. But so-called "hate speech" is protected, he said. “The most important job of the First Amendment is protecting all speech, but most importantly, speech that we hate,” Sullivan explained.
▶ Read Story
| | |
There is a deep and strong history of constitutional protections for anonymous speech that would make it difficult to sanction the Instagram account, said NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman. While the information was ultimately released despite state officials' insistence that it compromised an ongoing legal case, Silverman said it still matters who publishes the information — and more importantly, the motives in doing so. “One of the benefits of having that information come from a newsroom is that if the information turns out to be false, we know who to hold accountable,” Silverman said.
▶ Read Story
| | Other Commentary and Coverage | | |
Gregory Sullivan, NEFAC president, said the Trump administration’s actions are the greatest threat to free speech since the McCarthy Era — a 1950s period of government blacklisting and anti-communist crackdowns. Sullivan described Young’s opinion as a “brilliant and courageous” vindication of First Amendment rights and a “call for all of us to stand up and fight for our First Amendment rights.”
▶ Read Story
|
| |
The government’s disciplinary action could have a chilling effect on employees’ free speech, NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman said. Whatever the specific policy, Silverman said that public employers should be sure to enforce social media policies even-handedly regardless of political bent. “Our concern is that some of these public employees might be suspended or disciplined just because their speech is offensive, and that’s not in line with the First Amendment protections that we have as public employees,” Silverman said.
▶ Read Story
| |
“Anytime one of our universities gets an F on a free speech ranking, that is a good reminder for us to reevaluate our policies and to question whether they are doing everything possible to foster a campus environment in which students are comfortable speaking their minds about political issues,” said Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition.
▶ Read Story
| |
Gregory Sullivan, president of the New England First Amendment Coalition, called the growing hesitation among professors to speak out a “chilling effect.” “The biggest challenge is the current federal administration, which has attacked free speech rights against a very broad spectrum of individuals and organizations,” Sullivan said. “We need to be free to criticize our government. That was the point of the adoption of the First Amendment in the first place.”
▶ Read Story
| | |
NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman said the bumper sticker’s message on its own is protected speech. For it to be illegal, he said, it would have to constitute a “true threat” — speech conveying a serious intent to commit unlawful violence — or be paired with additional actions indicating intent. “Simply saying ‘Make Assassinations Great Again’ may be an awful message, but it’s protected,” Silverman said.
▶ Read Story
| | |
“[There is] a need for everyone on campus to be comfortable in expressing their opinions — particularly their political opinions— so they can get a better understanding of not only opposing viewpoints but have the opportunity to learn where maybe their own feelings could use some reassessment, where their own arguments could use some strengthening,” NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman said.
▶ Read Story
|
| Thank You to Our Supporters | |
NEFAC appreciates the support of all its donors and contributors. In particular, we would like to recognize the Estate of Gloria L. Negri, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the following Leadership Circle donors ($10,000+) and Major Supporters ($2,500-$9,999):
| | |
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
Rhode Island Foundation
The Boston Globe
Paul and Ann Sagan
The Robertson Foundation
| |  |
|
MAJOR SUPPORTERS
Boston University
Hearst Conn. Media Group
Academy of New England Journalists
WCVB-Boston
| | | | |
