MA SJC Rules Mama and Papa Bears Cannot Be Silenced
The MA SJC recently ruled in Barron v. Kolenda that public bodies can no longer silence dissent.
Attention mama and papa bears speaking up to protect kids in MA schools! The MA SJC recently ruled in Barron v. Kolenda that public bodies can no longer silence dissent.
Bullet Point Summary:
Decision means that if city councils, school committees, and other public bodies allow public comments during meetings, they may not stop someone from speaking simply because they think that what the person is saying is rude or inappropriate. If they do, courts may hold them personally accountable for monetary damages.
Public bodies can, however, still impose “time, place, and manner restrictions” on speakers, such as limiting how much time people can speak and requiring that people not disrupt other speakers or make threats. They likely can also require that all comments be related to an agenda item.
Public bodies can, however, still impose “time, place, and manner restrictions” on speakers, such as limiting how much time people can speak and requiring that people not disrupt other speakers or make threats. They likely can also require that all comments be related to an agenda item.
The Barron decision makes clear that when public bodies in Massachusetts like city councils and school committees allow public comment, they may not stop someone from speaking simply because they don’t like what the person has to say.
Read the latest blog post published by Massachusetts Family Institute for complete details of the case and the ruling.
Click here for a printable PDF of the MFI case brief in English and here for Spanish.