William Messenger
The George Washington Forum presents “Can Speech Be Compelled? The First Amendment and Speech Rights,” a Constitution Day lecture, on Monday, Sept. 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the Galbreath Chapel.
The speaker is Ohio University alumnus William Messenger, a staff attorney at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. He graduated with a bachelor’s in Business Administration from Ohio University in 1997 before earning his J.D. from George Washington University in 2001. He has litigated nearly 100 cases, including over a dozen at the Appellate-level, on behalf of NRWLD Foundation-aided employees and other individuals. His cases defend workers’ freedom from compulsory unionism and focus on the First Amendment and other constitutional rights. He has argued twice before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2014, he successfully argued Harris v. Quinn, securing a ruling that requiring homecare providers to pay union fees violated the First Amendment. Four years later, he also briefed and successfully argued Janus v. AFSCME, in which the Supreme Court ruled that non-union government workers cannot be required to pay union fees as a condition of employment.
Messenger’s talk is sponsored by the George Washington Forum. It is open to the public and all are welcome to attend. This event receives support from the Jack Miller Center through a grant from the Thomas W. Smith Foundation.
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