Waterbury Aldermen Threaten Free Speech Rights with Unconstitutional Policy

A policy that restricts public comment at meetings of the Waterbury Board of Aldermen violates free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut warned in a letter to Mayor Neil M. O’Leary and the aldermen.

The policy prohibits “ad hominem, personal, malicious, slanderous or libelous remarks" during public speaking periods at board meetings and hearings. Allowing praise and other positive comments while restricting critical “ad hominem” and “personal” remarks amounts to viewpoint discrimination, which is forbidden by the First Amendment and by similar clauses of the Connecticut Constitution.

The letter, written on behalf of Waterbury resident Cicero B. Booker Jr., also points out that the ban on “malicious” remarks invites public officials to censor individuals’ speech based on their perceived motives, which the U.S. Supreme Court has also held to be unconstitutional. Further, the aldermen are in no position to determine what is “slanderous or libelous” and therefore cannot censor speech on that basis.

The Waterbury policy is similar to one discontinued by the Winchester Board of Selectmen after a July 25, 2013, letter from the ACLU of Connecticut. The Winchester policy forbade "personal complaints or defamatory comments” about board members, anyone connected with the town or members of the audience.

“The government may not silence people because their opinions are unwelcome or unpopular and may not censor criticism of the government and its representatives,” said David McGuire, staff attorney for the ACLU of Connecticut. “This is true in every town and city, at all levels of government.”

The letter warns that enforcement of the policy could lead to a civil rights lawsuit.

“We residents and taxpayers have a right to speak our minds to our elected representatives,” said Booker, a retired Waterbury police officer and honorary member of the ACLU of Connecticut Board of Directors. “That’s how democracy is supposed to work, and we’re asking the Board of Aldermen to acknowledge that by rescinding this policy.”