NJ Supreme Court Rules
on Free Speech at Meeting

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday upheld a decision against a school board that refused to allow a father to speak at a meeting for “no reason other than the unpopular viewpoint he expressed.” However, the court rejected the $100,000 award that a jury had granted the father for violation of his free speech rights.

The 5-2 ruling indicates that school board policies can still regulate public comment based on issues such as time and manner, but boards need to ensure they are not restricting public comment based on an unpopular viewpoint.

The case of Philip A. Besler v. West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional Board of Education arose after the father, Philip Besler, attended several school board meetings to publicly complain about the girls’ high school basketball coach for abusive language, some of which was directed toward his daughter. After speaking about the coach’s conduct at seven board meetings, Besler was gaveled-down by the board president when the same issue was raised at an eighth meeting in 1997.

At the ensuing trial, a jury awarded Besler $100,000 in damages for pain and suffering for violations of his free-speech rights.

The board’s attorney argued before the Supreme Court that the gaveling was a legitimate restriction on the time, place, and manner of public speech.

NJSBA, which participated as amicus curie, or “friend of the court,” argued that the Open Public Meetings Act granted the board the right to exclude the public from discussions involving personnel matters. Besler’s attorney argued that both the state and the federal constitution gave his client the right to address matters of public importance during the public portion of a board meeting.

The Supreme Court found “Besler offered minimal evidence of emotional distress and the damages award is so clearly excessive that it constitutes a miscarriage of justice.” The reduction of the $100,000 award will be sent to a trial court to decide.

“Heightened protection is given to speech in public forums, including the public comment period of a school board meeting,” the court said. “However, the right to free speech is not absolute and is subject to reasonable limitations.”

The court said that statements made by the board president “revealed impatience and antagonism toward a viewpoint he did not want to hear,” noting that the jury rejected the claims that Besler was silenced because of his repetitive remarks or because the board needed to conduct an orderly meeting.

The court also rejected the personnel issue, saying that the Open Public Meetings Act merely allows a board to go into closed session to discuss personnel.

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