By John Fritze
CNN
June 20, 2024
The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a Texas woman who served on a small-town council to continue her lawsuit against her mayor after she was arrested for what she claims were political reasons.
In an unsigned opinion, the high court said a federal appeals court took an “overly cramped view” of an earlier precedent that control when people may sue for First Amendment retaliation claims. Justice Clarence Thomas authored the only public dissent.
Sylvia Gonzalez was arrested in 2019 shortly after she took her seat as a council member in Castle Hills, Texas, following a campaign in which she heavily criticized the city manager.
Gonzalez, then 72, was arrested for stealing a government document at a council meeting – a charge that stemmed from what she said was an inadvertent shuffling of papers and what city officials said may have been motivated by a cover-up.