A federal appeals court has ruled that a New Jersey resident who refused to wear a mask at a school board meeting during the coronavirus pandemic did not constitute protected speech under the First Amendment. did.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday issued rulings in two related cases filed against officials in Freehold and Cranford, New Jersey. The lawsuit was filed by George Falcone and Gwyneth Murray-Nolan.
The lawsuit centers on the plaintiffs’ claims that they suffered retaliation from the school board for refusing to wear masks at public meetings. The court sent one of the cases back to a lower court for consideration, but said in the other case the plaintiffs could not prove they suffered retaliation.
The court said refusing to wear a mask during a public health emergency does not constitute free speech protected by the First Amendment.
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Boxes of KN95 protective masks are stacked before being distributed to students at Camden High School on Wednesday, February 9, 2022 in Camden, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
“The issue that casts a shadow over these lawsuits is the First Amendment right to refuse to wear a protective mask as required by a valid health and safety order issued during a recognized public health emergency. The question is whether there is a right,” the court said. “Like other courts, we conclude that there is no room to address this issue.”
“Skeptics are free to express their opposition through a variety of means, and have done so, but failure to comply with masking mandates is not one of them,” the court added. “For example, you cannot refuse to pay taxes to express your belief that ‘taxes are theft.’ Nor can you refuse to pay your taxes to express your belief that ‘taxes are theft.’ Nor can you refuse to pay your taxes to express your belief that ‘taxes are theft.’ Nor can you refuse to pay your taxes to express your belief that ‘taxes are theft.'” I couldn’t refuse.”
Ronald Bertti, an attorney for the appellants, said they plan to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
Falcone attended a Freehold Township school board meeting in early 2022, when masks were still mandated in the Garden State. He refused to comply with the mask mandate and was issued a citation for trespassing. He also claims that a subsequent school board meeting was canceled because he was not wearing a mask. A lower court ruled his case was ineffective, so he appealed the decision.
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The court said refusing to wear a mask during a public health emergency does not constitute free speech protected by the First Amendment. (St. Petersburg)
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Murray-Nolan also attended a Cranford School Board meeting without a mask in early 2022, when a mask mandate still existed. Less than a month later, she was arrested on trespassing charges after attending the next board meeting without a mask. A lower court found that police had probable cause to arrest her because she wasn’t wearing a mask, which was required by law at the time, and she appealed.
Lawyers for officials named in the lawsuit praised Tuesday’s ruling. Eric Harrison said in a statement that refusing to wear a mask in violation of public health obligations is “the kind of “civil civil rights” that the framers of the First Amendment had in mind as protecting speech. It is not ‘disobedience.’
New Jersey’s statewide order requiring masks in schools ended in March 2022, shortly after the events in the lawsuit.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
