Since we last posted about the First Amendment rights of employees in 2012, the law has remained relatively stable but social media has exploded. And for the last 14 years, courts have been trying to figure out how speech made online affects the legal analysis regarding the First Amendment rights of government employees.
For a primer on the First Amendment rights of government employees, go back and look at Attorney Summer Murshid’s post from 2012. However, here are
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American Bar Association Brings Democracy Listening Tour to Wisconsin
Hon. Jeh Charles Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and ABA Task Force for American Democracy co-chair, speaks on “The Threat to Democracy.”
July 11, 2024 – A dozen speakers recently gave sobering presentations on the threat to democracy during a nonpartisan event from the American Bar Association’s Task Force for American Democracy, in partnership with the State Bar of Wisconsin.
The program, called
Wisconsin: Elections in the 21st Century (watch now) was held in-person July
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When is Social Media Activity by Officials Attributable to the Government?
On March 15, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Lindke v. Freed, 601 U.S. 187 (2024), which articulates a two-part test for when a public official’s social media activity constitutes state action. According to the Court, a public official’s posts on social media are attributable to the government if (1) the official had the actual authority to speak on the government’s behalf, and (2) the official purported to speak on the government’s behalf.
Background
James
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