A reprimand "does not materially impair freedom of speech," says SCOTUS. There's an old adage—spawned by former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis in 1927—that the best way to counter speech one doesn't agree with is not with censorship but with more speech. That seems to be a principle the Court still agrees with (thankfully). In a Thursday ruling, justices unanimously ruled against Houston Community College System board member David Wilson, who had accused his colleagues on the college school board of violating his First Amendment rights by verbally censuring him.
"Wilson was elected to a six-year term on board in 2013, but he soon found himself at odds with the other board members, blasting them on robocalls, on the radio, on his website, and filing four lawsuits against the board, which cost taxpayers close to $300,000 in legal fees," notes NPR. "He even hired a private investigator to see if a fellow board member really lived in the district she represented."
