Does Fort Smith School Board President Dalton Person Think The 1rst Amendment Is A Suggestion….Breakdown Of The Lawsuit
Mar 2, 2025
On February 24th I broke the news to you that a lawsuit had been filed against Person in Federal Court by attorney Matt Bishop on behalf of plaintiffs Felix Curry and Joey McCutchen.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19wYNCNhbU/
In early December, Curry was removed from his position of Head Football Coach at Fort Smith Northside High School. He then retained attorney Joey McCutchen to represent him.
The Lawsuit stems from Person denying Curry and McCutchen’s First Amendment Rights to speak during a Public Board meeting on December 16th of last year.
On December 18th I wrote an article about the events at that meeting.
https://arkansas1st.com/state/fort-smith-school-board-dishonest-unethical-incompetent-all-three/
Today’s article will break down the lawsuit against Person and the District, along with the events at that meeting that are the basis for the lawsuit.
Under Board Policy 1.14 – Meeting Agenda, the Board allows a portion for Public Comments which reads –
“During regular meetings, the Board also may permit a total of up to fifteen (15) minutes for public comments. Individuals desiring to address the Board during this allotted time must sign up prior to the commencement of the meeting and provide the name of the presenter and subject matter of the comments to be offered. The allotted fifteen (15) minutes will be allocated evenly among the speakers, provided, however, that no speaker will be allotted more than five (5) minutes unless specifically granted additional time by a motion approved by a majority of the Board. The members of the Board will listen to the patron’s presentation, but shall not respond to the presenter during the meeting in which the presentation is made. The Board may choose to discuss the issue presented at a later meeting, but is under no obligation to do so. The Board in its discretion may choose Page 20 to lengthen the time for public comments or eliminate public comments altogether at any meeting.”
Link to Policy:
The Policy creates what is called a “Public Forum” which is defined by Merriam-Webster as –
“A place that has a long-standing tradition of being used for, is historically associated with, or has been dedicated by government act to the free exercise of the right to speech and public debate and assembly.”
A citizen’s right to express viewpoint and content cannot be infringed upon in a Public Forum.
Curry and McCutchen, following the Policy, both signed up to speak in the Public Comment portion of the meeting. They were two of five who signed up.
When the Public Comment portion of the meeting began, Person called on the 1rst speaker on the list who informed him that she was deferring her time to Curry.
Person informed those in attendance that Curry had filed a grievance with the District over his removal and due to that he stated – “Coach Curry will not be permitted to speak tonight.”
The 2nd speaker on the list then spoke and did so in support of Curry.
The 3rd speaker on the list attempted to defer her time to Curry as well. Person reiterated that Curry would not be allowed to speak.
She then deferred her time to McCutchen to which Person responded that due to the grievance filed by Curry, McCutchen would not be allowed to speak either. That’s when McCutchen rose to respond to Person’s decision and the fireworks began.
McCutchen pushed back stating he was there to exercise his 1rst Amendment Rights as a citizen which did not resonate with Person at all.
McCutchen, who does not back down on his or anyone’s Civil Rights, dug in and stood his ground. Person then had District Law Enforcement remove McCutchen from the meeting which drew outrage from the audience.
This was followed by the 4th and 5th speakers on the list who both spoke in support of Curry.
During the exchange between McCutchen and Person, McCutchen said that he would take the matter to court which was welcomely received by Person.
Link to meeting. Public Comments begin at the 34:00 mark.
https://youtu.be/XB40_Oe2X4g?si=pb58fW66pYQF24fM
As I stated in the article on December 18th McCutchen doesn’t bluff. If Person didn’t believe that well….He sure as hell does now.
Person is an attorney, and I am not. However, I feel pretty sure that they teach about the 1rst Amendment in law school. Maybe he was sick or was smoking dope all that week….I don’t know.
As I also have stated previously, from my viewpoint, Person either “(a) does not understand and comprehend how the First Amendment works in the Public Comment Forum established by the Board or (b) does understand but just doesn’t care.”
The lawsuit factually contends that while other citizens were allowed to speak about the removal of Curry as Coach, Person denied McCutchen and Curry those same rights.
It also factually contends that Person nor the District can choose who can speak during Public Comments based off who they are and what they want to say…. Both contentions are 1rst Amendment 101.
The lawsuit claims that Person’s actions violated Curry and McCutchen’s 1rst and 14th Amendment Rights.
It asks the Court to enjoin Person and the District from denying citizens their 1rst Amendment Rights, pay Curry and McCutchen monetary damages and their attorney fees.
I have been reporting extensively on Curry’s case since it began. (Links to all the articles are at the bottom.)
And while to this day Curry has not been informed why he was removed as Coach, that doesn’t keep me from knowing that he has been wronged….Will we ever know why though ?
Thank God he has Joey McCutchen fighting for him.
#FactsNotFiction
moc.oohay@nivac.eimmij
https://arkansas1st.com/state/termination-of-coach-curry-just-how-black-white-is-it/
Professional Bully Fighter I investigate and report on issues around the State of Arkansas with an emphasis on Government. I am strong conservative however I bring Truth and Facts regardless of Party affiliation….My hashtag is #FactsNotFiction
Recent Comments