Split decision handed down in Native corporation free speech case Posted by Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska | May 18, 2021 The cover design of Goldbelt Inc.’s 2016 annual report was inspired by the late Clarissa Rizal, a Goldbelt shareholder and weaver. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO) “I speak up for what I think is right,” Austin told CoastAlaska. But the judge did find him guilty for not filling out the required paperwork before making his comments in a public forum: free speech is not a defense in these types of cases, she ruled. “Mr. Austin’s constitutional rights were not violated by the requirement he provide the [regulators] concurrent copies of his Facebook postings, including his own re-submitted candidate posts,” administrative law judge Carmen Clark wrote in her 31-page decision.