Moms for Liberty v. Brevard Public Schools

Across the country, elected officials are increasingly enforcing so-called “decorum” policies in public meetings to silence criticism from concerned citizens. That’s exactly what happened at meetings of the Brevard County School Board in Florida. Elected school board officials repeatedly interrupted members of Moms for Liberty, a parental advocacy group, who were criticizing the Board. The officials ordered them to stop speaking on entire topics like school library books and even removed a member from the podium for complaining about a former teacher. The officials’ reasoning? The parents violated decorum policies banning “abusive,” “obscene,” and “personally directed” comments. But the First Amendment protects the right to criticize government officials, and decorum policies are no exception to this ironclad rule. That is particularly true when, as in this case, the decorum policies are viewpoint discriminatory, unreasonable, vague, and overbroad.

On April 17, 2023, FIRE, joined by the Manhattan Institute, filed an amicus brief in support of Moms for Liberty with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. As the brief explains, whether it’s a city council meeting or school board meeting, from Iowa to Maine, from Michigan to Louisiana, ordinary Americans have been interrupted, forcibly removed from the podium, arrested, and even criminally prosecuted in the name of “decorum”—all because they dared speak out against their elected representatives. FIRE urges the Eleventh Circuit to rule in favor of Moms for Liberty and recognize that at public hearings, the First Amendment trumps “decorum,” even when the speech at issue becomes unpleasantly critical of its listeners.