Campus Free Speech
Ohio State Student’s Posts Urging “Resistance and Escalation” in Response to Israel’s Actions in Gaza Protected by First Amendment
From Christensen v. Carter, decided today by Judge Edmund Sargus (S.D. Ohio): Mr. Christensen enrolled at OSU as an undergraduate student in the fall of 2024. At that time, he had established an online presence as a political…
Students for a Democratic Society Chapter Expelled from Univ. of South Florida for Rule Violations Loses First Amendment Challenge to USF Policies
The expulsion only applied to the group as a group, and didn't apply to its members, though some members were indeed expelled for their own misconduct. The court upheld the policies (after laying out the various ways in…
Constitutional to Expel Law Student for Writing “[W]hatever Harvard Professor Noel Ignatiev Meant by … ‘[A]bolish the White Race by Any Means Necessary’ … Must Be Done with Jews”
From yesterday's Eleventh Circuit order in Damsky v. Summerlin, written by Judge Elizabeth Branch, joined by Judge Barbara Lagoa; note that the logic could equally apply to other posts that could reasonably be seen as…
Washington professor has a right to mock ‘land acknowledgements,’ court rules
A decade ago, the University of Washington (U.W.) adopted an official statement that "acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the…
First Amendment Challenge to UW “Unacceptable or Inappropriate” Conduct Policy Revived
Another item from today's Ninth Circuit decision in Reges v. Cauce, written by Judge Daniel Bress and joined by Judge Milan Smith (for more on the primary portion of that opinion, see the UW Professor's Parody of…
UW Professor’s Parody of Land Acknowledgment in Class Syllabus Protected by First Amendment
A short excerpt from today's long Ninth Circuit decision in Reges v. Cauce, written by Judge Daniel Bress and joined by Judge Milan Smith (note that the university apparently didn't argue that the speech was…
How foreign governments police U.S. speech
Today's guest is Sarah McLaughlin, a senior scholar at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and author of Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and…
Plaintiff Can Add Claims to Case Alleging Carnegie Mellon Prof Said Time on Jewish-Related Project “Would Have Been Better Spent” Exploring “What Jews Do to Make Themselves Such a Hated Group”
From Judge Scott Hardy's decision today in Canaan v. Carnegie Mellon Univ. (W.D. Pa.) (for more on the earlier decision that allowed much of this claim to go forward, see this post): Canaan's Complaint alleges that…
Court Orders Reinstatement of Law Student Expelled for Writing “[W]hatever Harvard Professor Noel Ignatiev Meant by … ‘[A]bolish the White Race by Any Means Necessary’ … Must Be Done with Jews”
An excerpt from today's long opinion by Chief Judge Allen Winsor (N.D. Fla.) in Damsky v. Summerlin, which I think is likely correct: Damsky has been a controversial figure at the law school since he enrolled. He seems…
University’s Apparent Concealment of Real Reasons for Non-Renewal of Adjunct Professor’s Contract Suspended Statute of Limitations
From Friday's Report and Recommendation by Magistrate Judge Michael Ambri (D. Ariz.) in Grossenbach v. Arizona Bd. of Regents: The plaintiff in this action, Daniel Grossenbach, founded an organization named SaveCFSD,…
