SCOTUS to take up case involving former HCC trustee

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston lawsuit pertaining to a community college trustee's First Amendment rights will be part of the Supreme Court case load this fall.

Former Houston Community College trustee Dave Wilson sued the school claiming the board and college violated his First Amendment rights.

Wilson was publicly critical of several board actions leading them to censure him from a vote.

Elected bodies at all levels of American government have long had the power to censure their own members. So, this question remains: Does the First Amendment restrict the authority of an elected body to censure a member over his speech?

The Fifth Circuit, breaking from five federal courts of appeals and one state court of last resort, held the First Amendment prohibits an elected body from censuring a member when the censure responds to the member's speech.

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