CT Mirror and Westport Library Present: The State of The First Amendment

The Westport Library and CT Mirror, winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, present a panel exploring the first amendment. On Tuesday, November 17, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Daniel Klau will sit down with Emily Bazelon, staff writer at The New York Times, and Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. Together, they will discuss challenges faced by local journalists, First Amendment issues on campuses of public universities, the impact of AI, and more. Emily Bazelon: Emily Bazelon is a staff writer at the New York Times Magazine and a contributor to Times editorials. She is also the Truman Capote Fellow for Creative Writing and Law at Yale Law School and a co-host of Slate’s Political Gabfest, a popular weekly podcast. She wrote two national bestsellers published by Penguin Random House: Charged, about the power of prosecutors, and Sticks and Stones, about how to prevent bullying. Emily won a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Charged in 2020 and was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2023. She is working on a new book about women’s health and freedom. Justin Silverman: Justin Silverman is executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. A Massachusetts-based attorney, Silverman helps lead NEFAC’s First Amendment and open government advocacy throughout the six-state region. His commentary has appeared in dozens of publications including The New York Times, Washington Post and The Boston Globe. A former journalist and publisher, Silverman served as an adjunct professor at the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Connecticut. He currently teaches at New England Law | Boston.