( February 8, 2024, 2:13 PM EST) -- PHILADELPHIA — In an opinion addressing two related appeals, a panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that not wearing a mask was not constitutionally protected speech and thus affirmed the dismissal by a New Jersey federal court of a lawsuit by a parent alleging that New Jersey school board members and police violated her free speech rights under the First Amendment, U.S. Const. amend. I, by retaliating against her for not wearing a mask to a school board meeting....