New England Lawyer May Pursue Speech Claims Against Two Towns

A Massachusetts environmental lawyer may proceed with her claims against two towns and their committee members, alleging that their response to her advocacy violated the First Amendment, a federal court said.

Margaret E. Sheehan sufficiently alleged that the actions of Carver and Plymouth, Mass., and various committee members, chilled her speech, the opinion by Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts said Wednesday.

Sheehan alleged that while she was representing clients, beginning in 2021, the defendants conspired with local sand mining and trucking companies to violate her First and 14th Amendment rights and, ...