SPEECH FIRST, INC., v. MARK SCHLISSEL, in his official capacity as President of the University of Michigan, et al., - Articles

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SPEECH FIRST, INC., v. MARK SCHLISSEL, in his official capacity as President of the University of Michigan, et al.,

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Sep 23, 2019

Head Comment: With dissenting opinion by WHITE

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1:

ARGUED: William S. Consovoy, CONSOVOY MCCARTHY PARK PLLC, Arlington, Virginia, for Appellant. Kevin T. Baine, WILLIAMS & CONNOLLY LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellees.

Attorneys 2:

ON BRIEF: William S. Consovoy, Jeffrey M. Harris, CONSOVOY MCCARTHY PARK PLLC, Arlington, Virginia, for Appellant. Kevin T. Baine, Stephen J. Fuzesi, Kathryn “Kylie” Hoover, Amy B. McKinlay, WILLIAMS & CONNOLLY LLP, Washington, D.C., Leonard M. Niehoff, HONIGMAN MILLER SCHWARTZ AND COHN LLP, Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Appellees. Thomas W. Kidd, Jr., KIDD & URLING LLC, West Chester, Ohio, Lawrence J. Joseph, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae.

Judge(s): COOK, McKEAGUE, and WHITE, Circuit Judges.

Court Appealed: Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Flint.

McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. Universities have historically been fierce guardians of intellectual debate and free speech, providing an environment where students can voice ideas and opinions without fear of repercussion. According to Speech First, the University of Michigan has not lived up to this historic ideal. Instead, Speech First contends that the University of Michigan has stifled student speech through its policy prohibiting bullying and harassing behavior and its Bias Response Team initiative. Speech First claims that the policy and initiative violate the First Amendment, sweeping in protected speech through overbroad and vague prohibitions.

Shortly after filing its complaint, Speech First moved for a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the policy and use of the initiative. The district court declined to issue the preliminary injunction, based in part on its findings that Speech First lacked standing to challenge the Bias Response Team initiative and that the claims challenging the policy were moot. We disagree. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth below, we vacate the district court’s denial of injunctive relief and remand the case for the district court to consider the merits of Speech First’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

 

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