Court rules: California community college violated free speech rights of conservative students.
Federal Appeals Court Rules California Community College Violated Constitutional Rights of Conservative Students
A federal appeals court has made a significant ruling, stating that Clovis Community College in California violated the constitutional rights of a group of conservative students. The college had ordered the removal of flyers that listed the death toll of communism, which supported freedom and highlighted the dangers of this ideology.
The panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the college’s actions were illegal and unjust. The flyers were posted by members of the Clovis chapter of Young America’s Foundation, namely Alejandro Flores, Daniel Flores, and Juliette Colunga.
College President’s Unfounded Reasoning
The college’s president, Lori Bennett, had ordered the removal of the flyers, claiming that they needed to “double as club announcements” according to an unpublished rule. However, internal emails revealed that Bennett had fabricated this reason specifically in response to the group’s flyers. She even admitted to a subordinate that the flyers were not considered club announcements.
This latest ruling upholds a lower court’s decision from last year, which stated that Clovis’s policy was “facially overbroad under the First Amendment and unconstitutionally vague under the Fourteenth Amendment.” The students were represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
“Clovis tried again to justify its censorship, but the court saw through its flawed arguments,” said Daniel Ortner, an attorney for FIRE, in response to the appellate court’s ruling. “The panel’s decision shows what we’ve argued all along: Clovis’s flyer policy is overbroad, vague, and indefensible in a court of law.”
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Clovis Community College for comment.
Click here to read more from The Washington Examiner.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Now loading...