WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Chief Judge Richard Myers ruled on Wednesday that the state violated the First Amendment when it told retired engineer Wayne Nutt to stop expressing his opinions about engineering without a state license, per an Institute for Justice announcement.
Nutt used his experience as an engineer to give his opinions about the designs of public works on the Internet. The NC Board of Examiners and Surveyors claimed that this was punishable by a misdemeanor unless he obtained a professional engineer’s license from the state.
“This is a win for more than just me,” said Wayne. “There are a lot of people in the same situation—people who have expertise that they’ve been blocked from talking about. This decision is an affirmation that the First Amendment protects all of our rights to share what we know.”
You can read the full opinion online here and find WECT’s previous coverage below:
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