A federal judge ruled that the federal judiciary could not prevent its 1,100 employees from pursuing political activities after working hours. While praising efforts to prevent perceptions of political influence, the judge said it was excessive to bar employees from expressing political views publicly or on social media, supporting candidates, making donations and attending political events. (The Washington Post, April 29, 2020, by Spencer S. Hsu)
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper of the District of Columbia said the federal court administration had not provided any showing that failure to prohibit political speech would damage the federal judiciary’s impartiality in the eyes of the public. In fact, judges and other employees have expressed their private political views for decades without loss of integrity. Wrote Cooper, “The First Amendment freedoms of fair and dedicated professionals should not be sacrificed at the altar of partisan myopia.” (Reuters, April 30, 2020, by Alison Frankel)