By Andrew Chung

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – The U.S. Supreme Court discarded a lawsuit filed by a Texas board member accusing the college of violating his constitutional right to free speech by publicly chastising him for his “reprehensible” conduct during his troubled tenure.

Unanimously, the justices overturned the lower court’s ruling in David Wilson’s case. He claimed that Houston Community College System’s censure was a form of discipline that violated his First Amendment rights.

This case concerned the power of public bodies, such as this college board or trustees to react to members’ speech or conduct by censure. Wilson served as a member of the college’s board between 2013-2019. The college is a public institution located in Houston, Texas. It has more than 50,000 students.

Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that “In this nation, we expect elected representatives… to shoulder some criticism about their public services from their constituents – and continue exercising their freedom of speech rights whenever the criticism comes.”

Gorsuch said that Wilson’s rights to freely speak “cannot” be used to silence any other representative.

In American history, democracy has used censure. Since two centuries ago, members of Congress in the United States have been censured.

In November, for example, the U.S. House of Representatives sacked Paul Gosar, a Republican congressman who was a loyal ally of Trump. He had made an anime clip that showed him swinging at President Joe Biden and killing Alexandra Ocasio Cortez.

Local media reports Wilson as an anti-LGBT activist. According to Houston Chronicle reports, Wilson previously signed a petition that would amend Houston’s charter to prohibit men from accessing women’s bathrooms.

Wilson claimed that he was running for the college’s board seat in order to expose mismanagement. Wilson criticized the decisions of the board through the media, robocalls and on the internet. He hired a private investigator and claimed that others board members were engaging in illegal or unethical conduct. Additionally, he sued the board for the actions he disagreed with twice.

In 2018, the board decided to suspend him, finding his behavior “not just inappropriate but also reprehensible.” He was also removed from his trustee privileges to certain college funds.

Wilson filed suit to stop censure being enforced, seeking damages for monetary and mental anguish.

New Orleans’ 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, New Orleans-based 5th U.S.A. in 2020 overturned a Federal Judge’s decision to dismiss the case and allowed it to continue. According to the 5th Circuit, a “reprimand of an elected official regarding speech that addresses a matter concerning public concern” is an actionable First Amendment claim.

However, the 5th Circuit ruled that Wilson’s constitutional rights were not violated by any of Wilson’s other actions.