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Calif. student speech codes on hold for lawsuit

Twenty-eight universities throughout the California public education system will have to suspend speech codes that are under litigation -- by order of a federal judge.



The plaintiff in the case is the College Republicans group at San Francisco State University. At a recent hearing the judge agreed to suspend what the plaintiff's attorneys call vague portions of a state policy that restricts free speech. The judge reportedly said the policy also contains serious constitutional problems.

Plaintiff counsel David Hacker of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) claims the codes, with very few exceptions, are aimed at conservative and Christian students. "Knocking those codes down, however, benefits everyone who cherishes their First Amendment rights," he says, adding that because of the judge's decision, "thousands" of students in the California State University system are "more free to speak without fear of punishment by agents of the government."

ADF is representing the campus College Republicans group along with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a First Amendment lobby and litigation group. ADF is also currently involved in two other lawsuits regarding state university policy.