With California’s AB2098, which bans “misinformation” by doctors, looking like it may pass in the near future, one doctor and his attorney Richard Jaffe are already stepping up and suing the California Medical Board for violating the physician’s right of free speech. In a public announcement, Jaffe notes that the federal civil rights lawsuit was filed on June 8. In sum, the doctor has been investigated for dissenting publicly on COVID-19 vaccine mandates and questioning “consensus” science. The plaintiff is Douglass Mackenzie, MD, and his offense was a two-minute school board Zoom comment in which he cast doubt on some of the public health edicts related to COVID-19.

Views Contrary to the Medical Establishment

The complaint opens by stating: “This is a First Amendment challenge to the Medical Board of California’s attempt to intimidate by investigation, censor, and sanction physicians who publicly disagree with the government’s ever-evolving, erratic, and contradictory public health Covid edicts.” The lawsuit continues by pointing out that, “Seventy-five years of judicial precedent has established that licensing agencies cannot sanction, prosecute or even investigate physicians for speaking out in public about a matter of public concern, regardless of the content, the expressed view point, and even if those views are contrary to the opinions of the ’medical establishment’“.

Board Acting as “Ministry of Truth”

According to Jaffe, the complaint is meant to educate people about the First Amendment rights of health care professionals. He notes that, “once AB 2098 gets finalized, the First Amendment violations in the bill will be added to this lawsuit.” Also, he is actively working towards similar lawsuits around the nation “against other medical boards which are doing the same to other physicians.” The current case is Mackenzie v. Medical Board of California, and the Complaint can be found here. It argues that the Board is acting as an Orwellian “Ministry of Truth” in suppressing free speech. The lawsuit is 100% community-funded, and any folks who want to contribute can do so at Jaffe’s website.

Richard Jaffe Esq.

Attorney Richard Jaffe is a long-term health freedom warrior.  He has worked for years on litigation and criminal and administrative investigations involving significant health care issues throughout the country. His book, Galileo’s Lawyer tells the stories of medical mavericks who faced off against the government and gives an insider’s view on some of his high-profile and controversial medical cases. You can listen to him tell about the launch of his Free Speech case on the Robert Scott Bell show July 13th speaking about his case defending physician free speech against government censorship.