Federales Decode Temple

PHILADELPHIA, PA, March 23— In a victory for free speech on campus, a federal judge
on Thursday issued a permanent injunction against Temple University’s former
speech code policy and also rejected Temple’s attempts to dismiss plaintiff
Sergeant Christian DeJohn’s claims that Temple has withheld his master’s degree
because of his political and ideological viewpoints.

“This is an
important victory for free speech on campus,”  said ADF Senior Counsel David French,
director of CAF.  “Temple has argued
throughout this case that student free speech rights exist essentially at the
whim of administrators and professors. 
With this ruling, the court has reminded Temple–and all public
universities in Pennsylvania–that universities must protect free expression
rather than merely protecting views that are ‘politically correct.’”

In
its order, the court rejected Temple’s argument that its old speech code, which
was changed just before the summary judgment deadline in the case, was
constitutionally justified.  The
court also rejected the university’s attempt to dismiss DeJohn’s claim that
school officials retaliated against him for expressing displeasure at anti-war
messages sent to him by professors while he served overseas in the Army.  The court set April 25 as the trial date
for DeJohn’s retaliation claim but dismissed his equal protection
claim.

A copy of the order issued Thursday by the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in DeJohn v. Temple University is available
at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/DeJohnvTempleOrder.pdf.

In September, a federal judge denied Temple
University’s motion to dismiss the case: (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3853).

“Administrators cannot use a political litmus
test as a way of determining whether or not a student will earn a degree,”
French said.  “We are pleased that
Temple University is now permanently barred from imposing an unconstitutional
policy, and we are pleased that Sergeant Christian DeJohn will have his day in
court.  ADF will continue moving
forward in its efforts to ensure that Christian will be allowed to earn his
degree and finish his college education without suffering further discrimination
on the part of Temple officials.”

The ADF Center for Academic Freedom is
defending religious freedom at America’s public universities.  ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear
and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and
litigation.

Alliance Defense Fund