The Supreme Court struggled with the issue of social media use by public officials on Tuesday, hearing appeals of two rulings that could alter the future of online exchanges between public officials and constituents.
According to The Hill, the cases involved social media blocks by a city manager in Michigan and two school board officials in California. The justices grappled with the issue of applying the First Amendment to the digital world over approximately three hours of arguments, and seemed to struggle with striking a balance at times.
"This is a case where there are First Amendment issues on both sides," Justice Elena Kagan said according to The Hill, referring to the public officials and their constituents. Central to the argument is whether a public official is engaging in government action when they block someone on their personal social media profile when personal and job-related posts are mixed. According to The Hill, lower courts came to opposite conclusions on the issue. The court looked at the "appearance and purpose" of the social media accounts to declare them state action in one case, while the lower court in the other case found that state action requires that state duty or authority be exercised. Several justices observed that elected officials are essentially always on the clock and expressed concern that an overly broad ruling could have a chilling effect on their speech. "This discussion does seem like it has coalesced around an understanding of duties and authorities, and there's some discussion about how capacious that has to be," Justice Neil Gorsuch reportedly said. The questioning examined the inner workings of social media and Justice Brett Kavanaugh reiterated the need to provide "practical" guidance to local officials around the country.The first case came about after Poway, Calif., school board members Michelle O'Connor-Ratcliff and T.J. Zane blocked parents of children in the district on their Facebook pages and O'Connor-Ratcliff's X account, which was then known as Twitter. Citing court filings, The Hill reported that Christopher and Kimberly Garnier had commented on the pages hundreds of times and included accusations of financial mismanagement and racist incidents. The Garnier family has since moved to another part of the country and the children no longer attend school in the district. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reportedly sided with the Garniers and struck down the blocks by the school board officials, which the court said ran afoul of the First Amendment. A similar case considered by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resulted in a favorable ruling for the local official, however. In that case, James Freed, the city manager of Port Huron, Mich., had deleted negative Facebook comments by resident Kevin Lindke and had blocked three of Lindke's Facebook profiles. The comments were critical of Freed's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Hill reported.Nicole Wells | editorial.wells@newsmax.com Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
Please follow us on Google to support us United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Missouri Supreme Court judge ensures female majority on the benchMissouri's Republican Gov. Mike Parson has appointed appeals court Judge Ginger Gooch to the state Supreme Court. Parson named Gooch to the high court Monday. She replaces Judge Patricia Breckenridge. Breckenridge is retiring. Gooch's appointment means women will keep their historic four-member majority on the seven-member court.
Read more »
Local group hopes to influence US Supreme Court to reinstate law prohibiting abusers from having gunsA hot button case in Texas will soon be heard by the Texas Supreme Court next week.
Read more »
U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in forfeiture case from SatsumaThe U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments from a Mobile County case that could determine what rights people have to property seized by police.
Read more »
Democrats plan to subpoena wealthy benefactors of Supreme Court justicesA vote is expected soon as Nov. 9 to authorize subpoenas for information from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow and from conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo.
Read more »
Senate Democrats plan to subpoena Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo over Supreme Court justices' travelSenate Democrats say they will subpoena Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo for more information about their roles in organizing and paying for luxury travel for Supreme Court justices
Read more »
Senate Democrats plan to subpoena Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo over Supreme Court justices' travelSenate Democrats say they will subpoena Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo for more information about their roles in organizing and paying for luxury travel for Supreme Court justices.
Read more »