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SPLC and FIREFile 'Amici' Brief Supporting CSU-Fresno Student Activist

On October 29, the  (SPLC) and FIREfiled an  (PDF) with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the case of O鈥橞rien v. Welty. The case concerns Neal O鈥橞rien, a student at California State University-Fresno who was disciplined for asking two professors about their involvement in a campus magazine and for attempting to videotape the encounter. O鈥橞rien was charged with harassment for his zealous inquiries in the professors鈥 offices, demonstrating yet again just how easily vague and overbroad harassment policies can be used to silence students鈥 speech.

In May, a U.S. district court judge  (PDF) the case, agreeing with the school鈥檚 contention that O鈥橞rien鈥檚 鈥渁ttempt at in-your-face interviews with video camera going, and his failure to immediately desist when requested to do so is nothing short of harassment and at least attempted intimidation.鈥 SPLC鈥檚 and 果冻传媒app官方鈥檚 brief, written by University of California, Los Angeles School of Law professor (and noted First Amendment scholar) Eugene Volokh with the help of the school鈥檚 First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic, urges the Ninth Circuit to overturn this ruling. As Volokh notes, 鈥溾楬arassment鈥 is a term with many legal meanings. None of those legal meanings covers the behavior at issue in this case.鈥 The brief elaborates on why the university鈥檚 policy鈥檚 lack of precision is problematic:

A student concerned about the risk of discipline鈥攁nd with no way of knowing whether his speech would lead to no discipline, mild discipline, or severe discipline鈥攚ould be inclined to avoid not only information gathering but also the expression of viewpoints that some might find as 鈥渦nsettling,鈥 鈥渞ude,鈥 or productive of 鈥渟tress.鈥

In a  issued on Sunday, SPLC executive director Frank LoMonte further explained that this chilling effect will have a significant effect on student speech and particularly student journalism:

鈥淎lready in 2013, the SPLC has dealt with two known cases of college journalists facing disciplinary charges for 鈥榟arassment鈥 simply because they asked unwelcome questions of public figures on campus,鈥 LoMonte said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 have college disciplinary bodies passing judgment on whether a journalist鈥檚 interviewing style is polite enough. Just the fear of being brought up on bogus charges鈥攚ith the possible risk of being suspended from college鈥攚ill be enough to intimidate journalists from doing their best work.鈥

Check back to The Torch for updates on the case.

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