The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit ruled in favour of Gloucester parent Inge Berge, who recorded his conversations with school officials and posted the video on Facebook. The case drew significant local and national attention after the school district demanded the video’s removal and threatened legal action in 2022. The appeals court’s decision overturned a state district court ruling that had granted school officials “qualified immunity” from Berge’s legal action.
Jaba Tsitsuashvili, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, explained that the case centred on whether public officials can threaten prosecution or adverse consequences for speech they dislike. He emphasised that the First Amendment clearly protects such speech. The Institute for Justice, although not representing Berge, supported his appeal with an amicus brief.
Berge’s recording stemmed from an incident where he sought tickets for his daughter’s school play, which had limited capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions. He recorded the interaction at the superintendent’s office on his mobile phone and later posted it on Facebook. Hours later, the district’s HR director, Roberta Eason, claimed Berge violated state wiretapping laws by recording without consent and threatened legal action if the video was not removed.
For more details, you can read the full article here.
