"On Sept. 1, the Charlottesville City Council unanimously approved a settlement agreement, hoping to end a two-year-old lawsuit with 26 plaintiffs. Two days later, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors approved the same agreement.

The agreement stipulated the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority, run by both localities and named as a defendant, would purchase certain parcels of the plaintiffs' properties, pay compensation for various costs and monitor groundwater for possible contamination from the Ivy Landfill. In return, the plaintiffs would be prohibited from exercising opposition to a permit for a new landfill cell" (Brian Cohen, The Observer, October 11, 2000).

What is the price of silence? Did free speech get dumped at the Ivy Landfill? Did the agency defy constitutional protections? Or does the agreement represent a classic example of an American way of dispute resolution?

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Comments have been received from Steven Miller and Ellora Young.