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ADF, Liberty Legal, and allied attorneys representing student prevail against school’s highly restrictive speech policies

MADISON, WI— This past Friday was a day to remember for Captain Scott Southworth, a unit commander in the Wisconsin National Guard 32nd Military Police Company. Southworth’s unit returned on Friday from more than a year of rigorous duty in Iraq and the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit handed down the latest opinion in Southworth v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Captain Southworth, then a student at the University of Wisconsin, was the plaintiff in the lawsuit when it was filed in 1996. The lawsuit challenged the unfair nature of mandatory student ...

HOUSTON – A University of Houston student group, the Pro-Life Cougars, announced a victorious settlement today in a free speech lawsuit against the university. The settlement is a big win for the student organization, but it could prove to be an even bigger victory for student groups seeking to regain free speech rights on other campuses. The case involved a graphic pro-life exhibit banned from display on Butler Plaza at the University of Houston. Benjamin Bull, chief counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund and the lead attorney in Pro-Life Cougars v. University of Houston, explained that the ...

Judge calls University of Houston a designated public forum for student speech

ADF official comment

HOUSTON – The Alliance Defense Fund Law Center, a national public interest law firm, last week filed for a second preliminary injunction to prevent the University of Houston from enforcing another unconstitutionally restrictive speech policy. The first injunction came on June 24, 2002, when U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein, Jr., ruled against the university in favor of a student group called the Pro-Life Cougars. In the fall of 2001, the University of Houston denied the Pro-Life Cougars permission to put up a display in a public space used by other organizations. But the group won the first ...

HOUSTON – What’s a politically correct university campus to do when seeking to deter freedom of speech on campus? Tell those who dare to trespass on campus orthodoxy they must pay special fees for security guards at their events, fees other groups don’t have to pay. That’s what happened to the Pro-Life Cougars, a University of Houston student group named after the school mascot. The Pro-Life Cougars sought permission to hold two events on campus: Concert for Life on March 20 and 21, and an event featuring Norma McCorvey on April 4, 2001. McCorvey, now a pro-life advocate, is the Jane Roe of ...

Court says university did not violate Christian students’ First Amendment rights; case goes to 9th Circuit

Four Christian student groups pressured to accept members and leaders that do not share their beliefs

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel David Cortman regarding today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to review the case Alpha Delta Chi v. Reed, involving a Christian sorority and fraternity at San Diego State University told they must be willing to accept atheists as leaders: “Public universities should encourage, not censor, the free exchange of ideas. But for now, the supposed marketplace of ideas at San Diego State University will remain a stronghold for censorship. We wish the Supreme Court would have used this opportunity to make clear that ...