Spotlight PA and two other news organizations are suing leaders of the Penn State Board of Trustees in federal court, accusing them of violating the First Amendment by controlling what individual trustees can say to the public and the press.The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, challenges what it refers to as a “gag policy” embedded in the trustees’ bylaws.That policy, the filing argues, “unconstitutionally restrains” trustees, prohibiting them from making any negative or critical public statements about the board or the university. Instead, the bylaws state, trustees “shall support majority decisions of the Board.”Trustees must also get permission from board leadership and accept guidance from public relations officials before talking to the press. Those who fail to do so can face disciplinary action — a process, the filing argues, that creates a “chilling effect” on a trustee’s ability to freely express their views.
The news organizations are asking a federal judge to declare the restrictions unconstitutional.“The right to dissent is the lifeblood of democracy,” said Heather Murray, associate director of the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, in an email. “Blanket bans on trustees making critical statements about Penn State stakeholders and requiring trustees to get preapproval to talk to journalists about any matters that have come before the board plainly runs afoul of the First Amendment.”
