When the Maine House of Representatives censured then-Rep. John Michael, I-Auburn, in early 2001 after he “verbally abused” two female senators, he apologized on the floor and thanked the House Ethics Committee for a “professional and deliberative” investigation.
It was the first time the body censured — or formally expressed disapproval of — a member, and the process would not repeat itself until 2024, when the House censured Republican Reps. Michael Lemelin of Chelsea and Shelley Rudnicki of Fairfield. Lemelin claimed the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting in Lewiston was God’s response to an abortion-rights law taking effect the same day, and Rudnicki rose to say she agreed with everything Lemelin said.
But Lemelin and Rudnicki issued similar apologies on the House floor to have their voting and speaking privileges quickly restored. Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, made no such apology after the Democratic-led House voted along party lines last month to censure her for her viral online posts that singled out a transgender girl who won a Maine high school track and field title.
Libby’s resulting federal lawsuit against House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, over him invoking a rule barring Libby from speaking and voting in the chamber is unprecedented in Maine and potentially in any state, various legal experts and free speech advocates said.
It has also created vast ripple effects. Libby’s viral posts in February evidently made it to President Donald Trump, who then clashed with Gov. Janet Mills over Maine’s policies that allow transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports. Six federal agencies then launched investigations into Maine or targeted the state while the Trump administration has frozen and unfrozen funding for its public universities and various programs.
“I think it’s safe to say this is pretty unusual,” David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech, a conservative nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., said Friday.
Keating recalled a case he noted is different — the Republican-controlled Legislature in Tennessee expelling in 2023 two Democratic representatives, one of whom is a Bowdoin College alumnus, for taking part in a gun control protest on the House floor. Lawmakers at the state and federal levels have also been expelled over the centuries for criminal behavior or for supporting the Confederacy during the Civil War, for example.
But experts noted Libby’s case in which she claims violations of the First and 14th amendments is different because it will test Maine’s rules on preventing members from participating in the legislative process. A National Conference of State Legislatures spokesperson said Friday they “won’t be able to help” after a reporter asked about any similar instances nationally.
Fecteau has declined to comment on the lawsuit. A federal judge in Rhode Island appointed by former President Joe Biden will handle the suit after Maine’s federal judges recused themselves due to a court system employee’s connection to the case, which the state must respond to by April 1. But Fecteau told reporters last month the censure was strictly “about the conduct of a member of this body.”
Libby has made the media rounds since last month, with her case getting national and international coverage. She said in a radio interview that Democrats made a “bad” political move. Her suit claims Fecteau “effectively disenfranchised” her and her 9,000 constituents.
Critics of Libby’s actions have pointed out she could apologize to get her privileges back, noting the posts and resulting national attention led to increased security at the Cumberland school the transgender student attends. EqualityMaine Executive Director Gia Drew said last month that Libby “crossed a line” by “attacking a kid” and creating “unnecessary fear” for the family.
While conservatives have been quick to criticize the Rhode Island judge handling Libby’s case by suggesting her status as that court district’s first openly gay judge makes her biased, the federal lawsuit will in any case test Maine’s rules.
Eugene Volokh, a University of California, Los Angeles law professor and a senior fellow at the right-leaning Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said Friday he thinks Fecteau’s actions violated the First Amendment based on a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that restored a Georgia state lawmaker, Julian Bond, to his seat after his peers had removed him over his statements opposing the Vietnam War.
“And while Bond involved exclusion from the House itself while this case involves exclusion from voting and speaking, I don’t think that makes any difference under the First Amendment,” Volokh said.
