Fifth Circuit Speaks Out Against Campus Speech Codes (in University of Texas Case) Reason.com

In today’s Speech First, Inc. v. Fenves, Fifth Circuit Judge Edith H. Jones, joined by Judge Carolyn Dineen King (with Judge Gregg Costa concurring in the judgment), held that Speech First had standing to challenge various University of Texas speech codes, on behalf of its members:

The chilling effect of allegedly vague [campus speech] regulations, coupled with a range of potential penalties for violating the regulations, & [is] sufficient “injury” to ensure that Speech First “has a ‘personal stake in the outcome of the controversy.'” &

[The University of Texas-Austin student code forbids, among other speech,] “[h]arassment,” which is the “mak[ing], distribut[ing], or display[ing] on the campus any statement that constitutes verbal harassment of another.” “Verbal harassment” is defined as “hostile or offensive speech, oral, written, or symbolic,” that:

[A.] is not necessary to the expression of any idea described in the following subsection [“an argument for or against the substance of any political, religious, philosophical, ideological, or academic idea is not verbal harassment even if some listeners are offended by the argument or idea”];

[B.] is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent to create an objectively hostile environment that interferes with or diminishes the victim’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by the University; and

[C.] personally describes or is personally directed to one or more specific individuals.

via reason.com