01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, August 17, 2004

THE RHODE ISLAND Supreme Court recognizes that the First Amendment is vital to our freedoms. Two weeks ago, it struck a blow for the rule of law, in a state where law does not always trump politics, by upholding freedom of speech and of the press.

For that, citizens should feel encouraged, and be grateful. But the court's actions are only part of what must be done if Rhode Islanders are to enjoy their birthright of freedom. More about that in a moment.

In its ruling, the court found that Sen. Stephen Alves (D.-West Warwick) -- chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, one of the most powerful posts in Rhode Island government -- had tried to use the courts to bully and intimidate a constituent into silence. Although the court had little choice, given the preponderance of First Amendment case law, it was a brave decision, because Senator Alves now holds the purse strings of the judiciary budget and could quietly seek retribution.

Senator Alves had filed a defamation suit against a high-school social-studies teacher and former Navy commander named Alan Palazzo, also of West Warwick, for daring to criticize him in meetings and in letters to the editor. (Mr. Palazzo had challenged Mr. Alves for the Senate, and lost.)

Under the First Amendment, of course, citizens have a right to raise questions and even speak out against a politician who they believe is ill-serving the public. If a society is to remain free, indeed, citizens have a duty to do so.

But Senator Alves, apparently, was of the opinion that no one could get away with questioning him in his West Warwick fiefdom -- and he would inflict a brutal punishment on this citizen who had dared try it.

Mr. Palazzo has had to spend $50,000 to $60,000 of his own money in legal bills, both in defending himself against Senator Alves's groundless suit and in trying to recoup some of that money lost.

The Supreme Court ruling allows Mr. Palazzo to go back to Superior Court and seek reimbursement of some of his legal bills -- which were $17,372 two years ago, before Senator Alves appealed the case all the way up to the Supreme Court. (The state's Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation act, SLAPP for short, lets people seek damages when powerful figures attempt to use the courts to stifle their basic rights.) Hopefully, the senator will also have to reimburse the social-studies teacher for thousands more spent since then.

One could argue -- as The Kent County Times did, in an Aug. 11 editorial -- that this long battle yielded a defeat, not a victory, for the citizen. Senator Alves has succeeded in chilling free speech in Rhode Island, even if the effort does end up costing him some money. Mr. Palazzo no longer writes letters to the editor and now rarely speaks out at meetings.

"That is a terrible tragedy," the editorial says. "The most important right, the right that millions have fought and died for, was plucked away from West Warwick's most vocal critic by one carefully orchestrated plot by a politician who wanted nothing more than to shut him up -- to silence the difficult and unfavorable voice of Mr. Alan Palazzo.

"And it worked, Senator Alves shut him up."

That is where citizens should step in. They should demand a price at the ballot box when a politician attacks their freedom, so that other politicians are not tempted to do the same.

It is, further, a disgrace that the Senate's Democratic caucus keeps a man so hostile to the Bill of Rights and the interests of citizens in one of its most powerful positions. What does that say about the Senate's regard for average Rhode Islanders?

Lest the reader think this is purely a West Warwick affair, such disdain for the First Amendment has, unfortunately, spread in Rhode Island. The state's attorney general, Patrick Lynch, who is supposed to uphold rather than undermine the law, has attacked The Providence Journal for publishing a photo from its own files, seeking to have the paper held in criminal contempt. He does not seem to grasp that the First Amendment bars government officials from dictating the content of newspapers.

Fortunately, the state Supreme Court still recognizes that the First Amendment is in force. Citizens should feel encouraged that, although they are losing a strong and keenly intelligent advocate of their constitutional liberties in Justice Robert Flanders, who is stepping down, his successor, William Robinson, is a longtime champion of the First Amendment. (Unfortunately, another justice, former Warwick mayor and State House lobbyist Francis Flaherty, appears to be less so; he recused himself from the Palazzo case, because he had previously filed an affadavit supporting Senator Alves!)

But citizens have to do their job, as well. They must send a strong message to officials who seek to erase their basic rights. Otherwise, politicians will continue to feel free to do their worst to Rhode Islanders.

Edward Achorn is The Journal's deputy editorial-pages editor. His e-mail address is eachorn [at] projo.com.