Asheville Constitutional Rights Attorney

The U.S. Constitution guarantees all persons in America certain rights, among them are the rights of freedom of speech, equal protection, and due process.

Freedom of speech is the right to express one’s ideas and thoughts, whether it be in words, photographs, videos, or art. With very few exceptions, a government (whether it be federal, state, or local) cannot take punitive action against individuals or organizations for their speech.

Unfortunately, many government officials and school/college administrators ignore this protection and impose discipline upon persons for exercising their freedom of speech. Often when punishing individuals for speech, these same officials and administrators deny due process to these individuals.

Due process is the individual’s right to a fair proceeding including the right to know the allegations and evidence against you, the right to be heard, and the right to confront allegations. Constitutional rights violations are becoming more common on college campuses, as professors are censured and even fired for their statements and students are disciplined for expressing protected speech. Unfortunately, these violations are filtering down into high schools and other government-run institutions.

Equal protection is the right to be treated equally under the law by governments with other members of society regardless of race, sex, religion, creed, and other non-immutable characteristics.

The attorneys at Elmore and Smith are committed to protecting the Constitutional rights of individuals, including the rights of freedom of speech, due process, and equal protection. We believe that a denial of civil rights to one person is a harm to all persons. As such, we protect individuals should a government entity seek to deny a person’s Constitutional rights.