High court on Houston Community College trustee's First Amendment case: 'SCOTUS unanimously rejects the man's claim that the censure was unconstitutional retaliation for his speech'

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a Houston-area community college board member on Thursday (March 24) who pursued legal action on claims a censure against him violated his First Amendment rights, according to a report from Houston NBC affiliate KPRC. 

David Wilson, who sits on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees, had his case elevated to the country's highest court late last year, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported.

"The Supreme Court rules against a member of a Texas community college board who sued the board for a First Amendment violation after the board publicly censured him," the Twitter account SCOTUSBlog tweeted. "SCOTUS unanimously rejects the man's claim that the censure was unconstitutional retaliation for his speech."

Elected to the board in 2013, Wilson claims the censure is an effort to silence his assertions of corruption and mismanagement, according to KTRK. Wilson's legal counsel presented that argument before the Supreme Court.

KPRC reported that Wilson was constantly at odds with his fellow board members when it came to the institution's direction and its best interests.

The station reported that Wilson has sued the Houston Community College (HCC) a couple of times, to which the school was saddled with more than $270,000 in legal fees. 

"The only adverse action at issue before us is itself a form of speech from Mr. Wilson’s colleagues that concerns the conduct of public office," the opinion obtained by KPRC states. "The First Amendment surely promises an elected representative like Mr. Wilson the right to speak freely on questions of government policy. But just as surely, it cannot be used as a weapon to silence other representatives seeking to do the same."

According to KTRK, before the high court reviewed the case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined that the First Amendment doesn't allow for an elected body to censure a member when the censure is a response to the member's words. 

The federal appellate court's opinion differed from five other counterpart courts and a lower court of last resort, the station reported.

KPRC reported that neither HCC nor Wilson provided comment on the Supreme Court ruling.

The station reported that the school's website for the board still lists Wilson as the representative for District VI.

Wilson's biography states that he was raised in the Midwest as the eldest of a family of four children.

The full opinion can be accessed here.