Attorney LoMonte throws a little sunshine on First Amendment in lecture in Williams Ballroom

By Rakiyah Lenon | Editor in chief

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution reads:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

In recent year, there has been a growing debate about what rights news media, social media companies and everyday citizens actually have, even though these 45 words are protective of public free expression.

First Amendment lawyer and CNN legal counsel Frank LoMonte visited Augusta University on March 14 to speak at the institution’s Future of the First Amendment Lecture for 2023. It also is Sunshine Law Week in the United States.

In the event hosted by Augusta University’s Pamplin College and AU Libraries, LoMonte presented his talk entitled, "Free Speech and Transparency on Campus: Lessons from the Pandemic.” He explained that his commentary is not on behalf of CNN, but his own personal opinions.

LoMonte focused on common misconceptions surrounding the First Amendment and described information that should be considered when examining rights that the public possesses when it comes to accessing information.

“People invoke the First Amendment typically when there’s a crisis going on, when there’s a dispute about extreme or hateful speech,” he said. “Over time, those two things kind of become associated with one another.”

LoMonte added, “While it’s terrific that it exists, freedom of speech doesn’t matter when you’re saying something non-controversial. They’re trying to silence you when you say something that’s pushing the edge or pushing people’s buttons.”

The Atlanta attorney said there are few limits on the people’s right to publish and share material they find to be of interest to be public.

“Freedom of speech is really, really, really powerful when it comes to information that you already have in your hands,” he said.

LoMonte said there is a lack of trust among many citizens in the country about what information they choose to believe. He said transparency is needed on every level of government, including at the federal, state and local levels, and that open government should be advocated for by everyone.

“Trust in all institutions in America is going through the floor,” he said.  “People don’t trust anything anymore.”

He added: “The public needs transparency. We know that transparency in government, and lack of transparency has real cost to our health and to our safety. If you are a person that’s invested in police reform, in the environment, in public health, then you are an open government advocate—you just don’t know it yet,” he said.

On the Georgia Open Records Act, LoMonte said: “The Georgia law is one of the stronger ones in the country. That being said, people often do express frustration that it doesn’t work well enough,”

He said it’s a matter of discussion that can be further examined at some point.

“It has some features that I think are worth emulating by other states,” he said.

LoMonte, who was a journalist before becoming a lawyer, highlighted freedom of the press in his talk. Having served as director of the Student Press Law Center for several years, he pointed to specific cases in which students won legal cases in the court of law when suing institutions that attempted to limit student speech on campus.

According to LoMonte, there are now 16 state laws that protect the student press—the so-called New Voices law that he helped promote as director for SPLC.

Yet in terms of transparency, academia has been having hiccups during the pandemic and its aftermath.

“Colleges are going in the wrong direction when it comes to transparency,” he said.

Speaking of the rights students have on campus, LoMonte said: “Just because they’re working inside the confines of a public university, that doesn’t mean that somehow the university has total and complete authority over them and that the First Amendment somehow ceases to exist. The Supreme Court has actually been really protective of the rights of college student speakers.”

When it comes to college students in general being limited on their freedom to speak out, LoMonte said excuses about privacy and protecting outward image are common ones, especially for college athletes, who face Draconian rules that make candid comments to the news media or in social media taboo.

Debra van Tuyll, a professor emerita of communication at Augusta University, worked with LoMonte years ago during his time as director at SPLC. She described LoMonte as one of the best directors she has been able to work with.

“He was always helpful and knowledgeable,” she said. “He was great at CMA (College Media Association) conferences, doing round tables and answering questions.”

LoMonte said those in vulnerable positions, like students and government workers, need protections guaranteed by the First Amendment to be able to speak out about matters of public concern without being punished.

“All social movements depend on being able to say things that are outside of the mainstream or outside of the majority,” he said. “One of the things we hold dear in society is whistleblowing.”

Mark Goodman, professor emeritus at Kent State University’s School of Media and Journalism, spoke of LoMonte’s experience and work surrounding the First Amendment.

“Frank is a great lawyer and an amazing advocate for journalists,” Goodman said. “He reminds us that democracy, in the U.S. and around the world, cannot survive without a free press.”

When it comes to the social media side of the equation, LoMonte emphasized that private companies do have the choice to determine what they choose to allow on their platforms. He said people are often worried about the permanent presence of information that is shared online.

“I think people are really concerned, as they probably should be, that these platforms have so much power to kind of choke points of our public dialogue,” he said. “When they change their polices, it kind of changes the public discourse. It’s a really hard tightrope for those organizations to walk on.”

LoMonte said the idea of trolls, propaganda and people who choose to engage in “anti-social” behavior online often negatively impact the way others view spaces on the internet.

“I don’t think we have a perfect answer to it,” he said.  “Is there a point at which letting some people speak online actually shuts down or silences other people?”

LoMonte said the hope is that people use the power of the law and freedoms the First Amendment holds for a great purpose.

“We’re darn lucky we have it,” he said.

Contact Rakiyah Lenon at rlenon@augusta.edu.

Atlanta attorney Frank LoMonte does the fist bump with Augustus before LoMonte’e Future of the First Amendment Lecture in the Williams Ballroom of the JSAC. At the top of the page, LoMonte makes a point about exceptions to open meetings laws. (photos by Madison Keel)

LoMonte said the Georgia Open Records Act is one of the strongest transparency acts at the state level in the country. (photo by Madison Keel)