On The Front Lines

Rutherford Institute Defends Gulf War Veteran, Challenges Efforts to Chill Political Speech Critical of Public Officials

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Rutherford Institute is challenging attempts by government officials that could chill political speech which is critical of public officials and informs voters of important issues.

In briefs to the Florida Supreme Court, Rutherford Institute attorneys have come to the defense of decorated Gulf War veteran Christopher Crowley who was punished for exercising his right to political free speech in his home state of Florida. Crowley, an attorney and former political candidate, was charged by the Florida State Bar for statements criticizing his opponent during an electoral campaign for a state prosecutor position. Institute attorneys argue that the prohibition of only those statements which attack the qualifications and integrity of a select subcategory of people in the judicial system, such as judges and elected prosecutors, serves only to display government officials’ special hostility toward critical speech which harms their own political prospects, which is precisely what the First Amendment forbids.

“No matter what their political persuasion might be, every American has a First Amendment right to criticize government officials or candidates with whom they might disagree,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “Nowhere in the First Amendment does it permit the government to limit speech in order to avoid causing offense or hurting someone’s feelings, protect government officials from criticism, penalize hateful ideas, combat prejudice and intolerance, and the like.”

Attorney Christopher Crowley, a decorated Gulf War veteran who served in Iraq and Kuwait and was a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve for twenty years, was a 2018 candidate for Florida’s 20^th Judicial State Attorney position, which is the head prosecutor over several counties. Crowley ran against the Chief Assistant State Attorney in the Republican primary. During the electoral campaign, Crowley denounced his opponent as “corrupt” and “swampy,” raised concerns about her track record as a prosecutor, her familial connections to a suspected anti-Israel group, and what role she may have played in having Crowley arrested over a small campaign donation from a raffle.

Although there is no indication that Crowley recklessly made these statements in disregard of a high awareness of any probable falsity, the Florida State Bar, which regulates attorney conduct, brought a disciplinary action against him. The Bar’s rules prohibit attorneys from making statements attacking the qualifications or integrity of a judge, public legal officer, or candidate for election to judicial or legal office without having an “objectively reasonable factual basis” for the statements, which is not the standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court to punish defamation. The trial judge found Crowley in violation of the professional ethics rules, claiming that he did not have an objectively reasonable basis for making the statements about his political opponent during the campaign.

On joining the case, The Rutherford Institute filed a Motion to Reconsider based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s subsequent decision in Counterman v. Colorado, arguing that the judge’s analysis violated First Amendment protections by applying an unconstitutional standard that would enable claims through the State Bar to be weaponized to chill speech critical of public officials. After the trial judge refused to apply those First Amendment protections to Crowley’s case, Institute attorneys advanced their free speech arguments before the Florida Supreme Court.

The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated, and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.

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Case History

August 29, 2024 • Rutherford Institute Defends Right of Political Speech and Right of Citizens to Criticize Candidates and Keep Voters Informed

November 09, 2023 • Decorated Gulf War Veteran Is Punished for Exercising His Right to Political Free Speech