Recent Opinion Upheld Rights of Non-Citizens to Engage in Political Speech Without Retribution
The Hon. William G. Young, judge of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts and author of a recent decision upholding the free speech rights of non-citizens, will receive the 2026 Stephen Hamblett First Amendment Award.
Named after the late publisher of The Providence Journal, the Hamblett Award is given each year by the New England First Amendment Coalition to an individual who has promoted, defended or advocated for the First Amendment throughout his or her career.
Young is an active trial judge of 48 years, serving on both the Massachusetts Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Since he was nominated to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, Young decided several cases of First Amendment and open government significance. Last year, Young presided over American Association of University Professors (AAUP) v. Rubio, et. al., a case focused on federal efforts to deport individuals for their political speech.
“This case — perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court — squarely presents the issue whether non-citizens lawfully present here in United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us,” Young wrote in his 2025 decision. “The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally ‘yes, they do’.”
The 161-page opinion explained the Trump Administration’s attempts to chill the rights to free speech and peacefully assembly of non-citizens in violation of the First Amendment.
“In an opinion that will be studied for many years, Judge Young powerfully articulated why political speech is protected for both citizens and non-citizens alike,” NEFAC President Gregory V. Sullivan said. “His words are a resounding reminder of why the First Amendment protects the speech that it does.”
In addition to his recent AAUP opinion, Young is widely known for reaffirming the right of journalists and other members of the public to juror information. In U.S. v. Doherty, news publications including The Boston Globe sought access to the names and addresses of those serving on the jury of a high-profile criminal case. In concluding that the First Amendment provides the public a right to this information, Young wrote:
“The processes of the court and its conduct with respect to the selection and protection of the jury during a sequestered trial are areas of concern that the public may well wish to explore and the jurors may well wish to discuss. It is important for the public to receive information about the operation of the administration of justice, including information about the actual people who do render justice in the truest sense of the word.”
Sponsors and Supporters Include
A longtime teacher of evidence and trial advocacy, Young has taught at several law schools including Harvard, Boston College, and Boston University. He also frequently speaks to journalism students about their rights under the First Amendment. Commonly referred to as the Education Judge, Young is active in judicial education at the Federal Judicial Center and the Flaschner Judicial Institute. Moreover, he volunteers much of his time to educating the bar and has been a staple at continuing legal education programs and institutions.
In addition to teaching in the classroom, Young has written extensively. He is the principal author of Massachusetts Evidentiary Standards (1992 through 2005 eds.) and Vols. 19 and 19A, Evidence (Mass. Practice Series 1998), and co-author of Daubert’s Gatekeeper: The Role of the District Judge in Admitting Expert Testimony (Tulane Law Review), and An Open Letter to U.S. District Judges, The Federal Lawyer (July 2003).
Young will receive this year’s Hamblett Award at a private ceremony in Boston next month.
Previous recipients are John King at CNN (2025); Sarah-Ann Shaw (posthumously), the late trail-blazing journalist and community advocate (2024); Brian McGrory, former editor of The Boston Globe and chair of the Boston University journalism department (2023); Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer of FRONTLINE (2022); Yamiche Alcindor, White House Correspondent for PBS NewsHour (2021); A. G. Sulzberger of The New York Times (2020); Stephen Engelberg of ProPublica (2019); Jane Mayer of The New Yorker (2018); Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post (2017); U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont (2016); retired federal judge Nancy Gertner (2015); James Risen of The New York Times (2014); Philip Balboni, co-founder of GlobalPost and founder of NECN (2013); Martin Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post (2012); and Anthony Lewis, the late journalist and author (2011).
NEFAC is the region’s leading defender of the First Amendment and open government. The coalition began in 2006 to advance and protect the five freedoms of the First Amendment, including the principle of the public’s right to know. We’re a broad-based organization of people who believe in the power of an informed democratic society.
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NEFAC appreciates the support of all its donors and contributors. In particular, we would like to recognize the Estate of Gloria L. Negri, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the following Leadership Circle donors: Rhode Island Foundation, The Boston Globe, Paul and Ann Sagan, The Harbus Foundation, Boston University, the Champa Charitable Foundation and the Robertson Foundation. Major Supporters of NEFAC’s work include Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Gravel & Shea PC, the Academy of New England Journalists, and Truro News.