From yesterday's Third Circuit decision in Reading v. North Hanover Township, written by Judge Thomas Hardiman and joined by Judges Kent Jordan and David Porter:
Angela Reading, a mother and former school board member, alleged that federal and local government officials violated her right to free speech by engaging in a campaign of censorship and retaliation after she posted comments on Facebook. She requested a preliminary injunction to prohibit those officials from further interfering with her First Amendment rights. After the District Court denied her motion, Reading appealed.
{Reading's allegations are serious and raise important questions under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. Reading expressed concern about whether her seven-year-old daughter was being exposed to sexual topics that have no place in an elementary school. Regardless of whether one agrees with Reading's concern, the record suggests that Defendants' response to her blog post was, to put it mildly, disproportionate.}
Although much of the government actors' behavior was beyond the pale, the record does not show a substantial risk that their acts of censorship and retaliation will recur. So Reading lacks standing to seek a preliminary injunction….
More on the factual claims:
