[Clips] Court rules no whistle-blower free-speech right

[Steve Schear]

At 07:14 PM 5/30/2006, R.A. Hettinga wrote:
><http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-05-30T210703Z_01_N30454508_RTRUKOC_0_US-COURT-WHISTLEBLOWERS.xml>
>
>   Court rules no whistle-blower free-speech right
>
>   Tue May 30, 2006 5:07 PM ET
>
>
>   By James Vicini
>
>   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A closely divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on
>   Tuesday that government whistle-blowers are not protected by free-speech
>   rights when they face employer discipline for trying to expose possible
>   misconduct at work.

...

>   Adopting the position of the Los Angeles prosecutor's office and the U.S.
>   Justice Department, the high court ruled that a public employee has no
>   First Amendment right in speech expressed as part of performing
>   job-required duties.

...
>   Steven Shapiro of the American Civil Liberties Union said, "In an age of
>   excessive government secrecy, the Supreme Court has made it easier to
>   engage in a government cover-up by discouraging internal whistle-blowing."
>
>   Other ACLU officials predicted the ruling will deter government employees
>   from speaking out about wrongdoing for fear of losing their jobs.

This may not be as much a blow to free speech as an opportunity to promote 
the civic virtue of psuedo-anonymous speech.  Cypherpunks should focus on 
how whistle-blowers can use available technology to authenticate themselves 
to reporters and secretly correspond to help the press investigate and 
corroborate the story without having to come forward and expose themselves 
to presecution.

Steve