Wheeler is director of Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, which is dedicated to the defense of free expression through education, legislation and the judicial process.
What has the center been doing lately?
We just recently intervened in the case of American International Group v. the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of a reporter who sought access to the reports of the official monitor of AIG. We were able to convince the judge, in U.S. District Court in D.C., that the records should, in fact, be open to the public.
Is it easier or harder today to enforce the right to free expression and to access public information?
It’s definitely a mixed bag. It often seems as if we take one step forward and one step back. Particularly in the wake of Sept. 11, often national security is the label that is thrown up there and the press is often denied access, or people are being detained.
Are some cases hard to defend?
We filed as a friend of the court for the Westboro Baptist Church, the funeral protesters. We were one of only two organizations to file in support of the protesters when it was before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. The judge voted to overturn the judgement [against Westboro] based on our argument.
Why support such an unpopular case?
Because by protecting the speech that we hate, we guarantee that the speech we support will also be protected. The Westboro Baptist Church protest was probably the case that tested my First Amendment principles more than any other.
How has this job influenced your views of free speech?
I’m probably much more committed to it than I was 17 years ago. I see on a daily basis people’s First Amendment rights being violated, and most of the time it’s not these attention-getting, headline-producing incidents.
– Susan Ferrechio
