CIR Files Suit to Defend Political Speech and Transparency

CIR is representing Matthew Tortorice, who was elected to a seat on Margaret, Alabama’s city council in 2020 as a reform candidate. Since then, Matthew has proposed some modest changes to bring his city in line with reasonable government practice, including increasing transparency by publishing video recordings of council meetings. But in the last four months, his recordings have been suppressed in violation of his First Amendment rights and the rights of his constituents.

Matthew began recording meetings in February 2023 and continued to do so until recently. At a July 2 meeting, which he was unable to attend, the city council passed a new rule prohibiting video and audio recordings of council meetings. The rule violates both clear First Amendment precedent and Alabama state law.

Matthew was not informed about the city’s ban on recordings until the next council meeting a month later when the Mayor Pro Tem asked him to remove his recording equipment. Since then, he has been forcibly expelled from a meeting and violently threatened by his fellow council members for continuing his efforts to record council meetings.

As egregious as the violations of Matthew’s rights have been, more concerning to him is that the people of Margaret are being denied the opportunity to hear their elected officials deliberate on matters of pressing local concern.

CIR partnered with Matthew to challenge the Margaret city council’s unlawful speech suppression. On October 10, 2024, CIR filed a lawsuit seeking damages for past injuries, a declaration that the city’s recording ban is unconstitutional, and an injunction against its enforcement.