September 22, 2023

In the News

Miami Herald: You can speak at Miami-Dade commission meetings. Just don’t criticize a commissioner

By Douglas Hanks

.....When Miami-Dade County commissioners invite comments from the public, there’s one category of speech that’s officially prohibited: criticizing elected officials by name.

“I forgot to go through all the rules,” Oliver Gilbert, chair of the County Commission, told a packed chambers on Sept. 7 after a speaker criticized Mayor Daniella Levine Cava for a perceived misjudgment on policy toward homeless dogs and cats. “We act as a county. So we don’t direct comments to specific individuals.” …

While the Miami-Dade decorum policy hasn’t been challenged in court, lawsuits in Florida and beyond have left similar rules in place.

A federal judge in February ruled for the Brevard County School Board after the Moms For Liberty advocacy group sued because members kept getting interrupted when singling out board members at meetings…

For free-speech advocates, policies like Miami-Dade’s tread on residents’ constitutional rights to petition their government. They also see the restrictions as bad government by shielding elected office holders from hearing criticism from residents who took the time to get themselves to a county microphone to participate in the legislative process. “You have the right to say: ‘This piece of legislation was submitted by Council Member X, and Council Member X has a conflict of interest,’ ” said Alan Gura, an Institute for Free Speech lawyer representing Moms For Liberty...“You’re engaging in a conversation not just with the board, but you’re part of the public debate.”

FEC

Roll Call: Democrats rap FEC gridlock that Republicans say is a feature

By Daniela Altimari

.....The agency charged with enforcing federal campaign finance laws came before a congressional committee Wednesday amid calls to ramp up oversight, improve transparency and modernize technology as more money flows into politics than ever before.

Democrats on the House Administration Committee, which hosted the hearing, are calling for changes to the makeup of the Federal Election Commission...

Democrats have proposed legislation reducing the number of commissioners from six to five. They say the current structure also has allowed Republican commissioners to ignore the findings of nonpartisan staff. Republicans say changing the size of the commission and altering its partisan balance would inject more politics into the decision-making process...

Commissioners Ellen L. Weintraub and Shana M. Broussard, both Democrats, wrote in a memo that Trump and his backers have been on a “remarkable win streak” when it comes to FEC enforcement.

“There does seem to be a problem where some people are not treated the same as everybody else,” Weintraub said.

The Republican who serves as vice chairman of the commission, Sean J. Cooksey, said Congress was “extremely wise” to create an agency with an equal number of commissioners from the two parties because it requires bipartisan agreement to act.

“It is the most important structural feature of the agency to prevent it from engaging in partisan, politically motivated investigations,” Cooksey said...

The hearing marked the first time in 12 years that FEC commissioners have come before a congressional oversight committee.

Some Republicans were critical of Weintraub, who has served on the FEC for more than two decades even though her term expired in 2007. She said it was up to the president to appoint a commissioner to replace her.

The Courts

Bloomberg Law: ‘Trump Too Small’ Fight Splits First Amendment Trademark Views

By Kyle Jahner

.....A dispute over a “Trump Too Small” trademark application hinges on whether a statutory ban offends the First Amendment, as the US Supreme Court recently found two other restrictions did.

Recent friend-of-the-court briefs filed at the US Supreme Court spar over whether a Lanham Act provision barring marks “identifying a living individual” without their consent fundamentally differs from stricken bans on disparaging or vulgar marks. The high court struck down those statutory provisions in 2017 and 2019 cases involving bids to register “The Slants” and “FUCT,” respectively.

Congress

Fox News: Congress unveils report that shows 'pervasive degradation' of First Amendment rights on college campuses

By  Kendall Tietz 

.....A congressional report released by the House of Representative's education committee Thursday unveiled what they described as "alarming" findings regarding the state of free speech at America's higher education institutions. 

The Freedom of Speech and Its Protection on College Campuses report outlined the House Education and the Workforce Committee findings of First Amendment violations on college campuses throughout the county and provided legislative suggestions to tackle what they described as "growing illiberalism in postsecondary education."

Tax-Financed Campaigns

The City: Adams Campaign Repeatedly Ignored Regulators’ Demands to Identify Supporters Behind $300,000 in Contributions

By George Joseph, Bianca Pallaro, and Tom Robbins

.....Eric Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign repeatedly ignored city regulators’ requests to identify political supporters who they suspected of having raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations without disclosing their role, according to New York City Campaign Finance Board records obtained by THE CITY. 

The flagged donations totaled more than $300,000 from more than 500 donors. Thanks to the city program that provides matching funds of up to eight-to-one for eligible contributions, the donations secured an additional $522,000 in public funds for the Adams campaign.