When a Town Board of Selectmen unconstitutionally silenced a citizen at a public meeting, D’Ambrosio LLP assisted in representing her before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In a complete win for our client, the SJC found the Town’s “civility provisions” for public comments were in violation of Articles 16 and 19 of the state Declaration of Rights. Stating that those provisions of the Declaration of Rights “provide for a robust protection of public criticism of governmental actions and officials,” the Court struck down the Town’s public comment rules as unconstitutional. The ACLU called the decision “a major victory for free speech and participatory democracy,” and Pioneer Legal said the decision “will have a nationwide impact on the rights of citizens to be heard by their elected officials.” Barron v. Kolenda, SJC-13284 (2023).
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