January 1, Supreme Court Ruling Tests Free Speech Limits in Youth Counseling

Wyatt’s Take

• The Supreme Court ruled that Colorado cannot bar counselors from certain conversations with minors.
• The decision was a major win for free speech and the First Amendment.
• Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter in the 8-1 ruling.

Law professor Jonathan Turley said the ruling was another setback for Colorado’s approach to speech restrictions. He argued the state keeps running into constitutional roadblocks when it tries to control private conversations.

The case centered on counselor Kaley Chiles, who said the state was trying to pick winners and losers in the marketplace of ideas. The majority agreed that the government cannot silence protected speech simply because it dislikes the message.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the First Amendment protects Americans from any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech.

"But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country."

Gorsuch also warned that public health claims do not give governments a blank check to censor citizens. He said the right to think and speak freely remains beyond the state’s reach.

Jackson dissented, arguing the law regulated conduct rather than speech. The rest of the court rejected that view, preserving private counseling conversations from government control.

Wyatt Matters

Middle Americans know parents, not politicians, should guide their children's values and care. This ruling reinforces the idea that government should not police private family conversations.

Read more about the Colorado free speech case here.