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Lane v. Franks

Court Type: U.S. Supreme Court
Status: Closed (Judgment)
Last Update: March 10, 2014

What's at Stake

Whether the First Amendment protects a public employee who testifies truthfully, under subpoena, at a public corruption trial.

The Supreme Court has ruled that public employees are protected by the First Amendment when they speak as citizens but not when they speak in their government roles. In its amicus brief, the ACLU argues that the First Amendment should protect any government employee from retaliation for testifying truthfully at a judicial proceeding, regardless of whether the testimony is compelled by subpoena or given voluntarily.

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