Tag Archives: ZZ: Ward v. Wilbanks

Detroit Free Press | freep.com: Julea Ward was an Eastern Michigan University student dismissed from a graduate counseling program after she refused to counsel a gay client. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that she can have her religious discrimination lawsuit tried before a federal jury. / Gene Parunak/ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco at the Online Library of Law and Liberty: In the end, the court struck at the very heart of what Julea’s lawsuit is all about: that the First Amendment prohibits public universities from demanding that students change or violate their beliefs as a condition to getting a degree. As the court said: “A university cannot compel a student to alter or violate her belief systems . . . as the price for obtaining a degree.” The Sixth Circuit is right, “Tolerance is a two-way street.” A fact that is often lost on public universities when it comes to Christian expression and belief, as Julea’s case so clearly shows.

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 14:07 mins

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on FRC’s Washington Watch to discuss the ruling. | MP3 audio 9:03 mins

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the ruling. | MP3 audio 5:35 mins

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco at the Detroit Free Press (2/2): These five simple, yet profound, words come from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit’s recent opinion in a case involving Eastern Michigan University’s expulsion of Julea Ward from its graduate counseling program.

The Eastern Echo: Tedesco said the court recognized Ward’s rights were violated by the EMU. “The court said that the university can’t force a student to alter or violate her beliefs as a condition to getting a degree. That’s what we’ve been saying the university was up to from the beginning,” Tedesco said. “The Sixth Circuit really hit that and said, ‘That’s unacceptable. The First Amendment doesn’t allow it.’

R.R. Reno at First Things First Thoughts Blog: We seem to be in a season of judicial sanity. As Jeremy Tedesco, the lawyer who argued the case reports, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision that vindicated the claims of Julea Ward.

The Moral Liberal: In this blog entry, I’ll cover the facts at issue and discuss the court’s holding. Later this week, I’ll focus on how the opinion could harm campus speech in the future . . . ollowing her expulsion, Ward brought suit with the assistance of the Alliance Defense Fund, alleging that the defendants, employees of a public school, had violated her rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religious exercise under the First Amendment.

Baptist Press: “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately,” said Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. Tedesco argued for Ward before the court. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said the ruling “marks an important step in defending the religious and intellectual freedoms of Americans.”

CBN.com: “Rather than allow Julea to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor — a common, professional practice to best serve clients — EMU attacked and questioned Julea’s religious beliefs and ultimately expelled her from the program because of them,” said Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco, who argued Ward’s case last October.

World Mag: Jeremy Tedesco, the Alliance Defense Fund lawyer who argued Ward’s case, praised the court for recognizing Ward’s right to retain her religious beliefs while pursuing her education. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree,” he said in a prepared statement. “The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately.”

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco at Law and Liberty: On Friday, January 27, 2011, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an important victory for religious liberty on public university campuses in a lawsuit the Alliance Defense Fund brought against Eastern Michigan University (EMU) on behalf of Julea Ward.

Robyn Hagan Cain at Findlaw: Julea Ward, who enrolled in the EMU program in 2006 to become a high school counselor, declined to counsel a homosexual client during her school practicum because her “Christian beliefs would not allow her to affirm the client’s homosexual behavior,” according to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which is representing Ward.

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Paul Edwards Show to discuss the Julia Ward case. | MP3 audio 10:51 mins

Inside Higher Ed: The Alliance Defense Fund, which has represented both Ward and Keeton, praised Friday’s ruling. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately,” said Jeremy Tedesco, the lawyer who has worked on Ward’s case. The group has stressed the issue of religious freedom in both the Eastern Michigan and Augusta State cases.

WorldNetDaily (includes video): “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately,” said Alliance Defense Fund Counsel Jeremy Tedesco, who argued before the court in October of last year.

Detroit Free Press | freep.com: Tolerance is a two-way street,” the judges said. Ward’s lawyer, Jeremy Tedesco of the Alliance Defense Fund, a faith-based legal group, said: “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. “Rather than allow Julea to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor — a common, professional practice to best serve clients — EMU attacked and questioned Julea’s religious beliefs and ultimately expelled her from the program because of them.”

Student Press Law Center: eremy Tedesco of Alliance Defense Fund, one of Ward’s attorneys, said he’s unhappy with Hazelwood’s extension, even though the court’s decision ultimately went in favor of his client. “Frankly, I’m not a huge fan of Hazelwood being extended to the public university context,” Tedesco said. “I think it’s very clear, though, that student publications at the college level wouldn’t — at least shouldn’t — be governed by Hazelwood, and I don’t think the decision says that at all.”

UPI.com: Ward is being represented by lawyers from the Alliance Defense Fund, a faith-based legal group. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree,” said Jeremy Tedesco of the ADF. Ward said she was willing to counsel gay and lesbian students on other matters but refused to counsel them with regard to sexual orientation.

Sacramento Bee: Ward’s lawyers at the Alliance Defense Fund, a faith-based legal group, hailed the decision. Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree,” said the Alliance’s Jeremy Tedesco, the lawyer who argued the case. “The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately. Rather than allow Julea to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor – a common, professional practice to best serve clients – EMU attacked and questioned Julea’s religious beliefs and ultimately expelled her from the program because of them.”

Huffington Post (includes video): “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree,” Jeremy Tedesco, the Alliance Defense Fund lawyer who argued the case, told the Free Press. “Rather than allow Julea to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor — a common, professional practice to best serve clients — EMU attacked and questioned Julea’s religious beliefs and ultimately expelled her from the program because of them.”

NewsOK.com: Ward’s lawsuit, in which she is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, stems from an incident near the end of her time as a graduate student at EMU. “She had no problem counseling gay and lesbian clients,” the court noted, explained that “Ward [had] asked that she be allowed to refer gay and lesbian clients seeking relationship advice to another counselor,” but instead she was dismissed from the program for allegedly violating ACA code of ethics by discriminating against homosexual clients.

David French at National Review Online: I argued the case at the trial-court level (and cough lost cough) when I was at the Alliance Defense Fund and was on the appellate briefs, but the credit and congratulations go to Julea Ward, my former ADF colleagues, and my friend ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco, who argued the case at the Sixth Circuit. Well done, Jeremy.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled Friday in favor of Julea Ward, an Eastern Michigan University graduate student represented by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys who was expelled from a counseling program for her beliefs. In a strongly worded opinion, the court reversed a district court decision in favor of the university and sent the case back for trial, saying “a reasonable jury could conclude that Ward’s professors ejected her from the counseling program because of hostility toward her speech and faith….”

Detroit Free Press | freep.com (includes video): Ward’s lawyers at the Alliance Defense Fund, a faith-based legal group, hailed the decision. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree,” said the Alliance’s Jeremy Tedesco. “The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately. Rather than allow Julea to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor — a common, professional practice to best serve clients — EMU attacked and questioned Julea’s religious beliefs and ultimately expelled her from the program because of them.” | The ruling.

Thomas Messner at the Heritage Foundation: According to Ward’s attorney: Rather than allow Julea to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor—a common, professional practice to best serve clients—EMU attacked and questioned Julea’s religious beliefs and ultimately expelled her from the program because of them.

Ypsilanti Courier – Heritage Newspapers: Jeremy Tedesco represents Ward on behalf of the Alliance Defense Fund, a national legal organization founded to “defend our First Liberty — religious freedom.” . . . They argue that in denying Ward the ability to refer a client, she was being singled out and that in subsequent interactions with the school Ward’s religious views were “attacked and denigrated.” “(Ward) didn’t ask for anything that anyone else hadn’t asked for,” Tedesco said

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on AFA Focal Point with Bryan Fischer to discuss the Julia Ward case. | MP3 audio 9:53 mins

Marcia Segestein at WORLDmag.com: At a hearing earlier this week, attorneys for the ADF argued that it was Ward who suffered discrimination. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree,” said Jeremy Tedesco, one of Ward’s ADF attorneys. “Rather than allow Julea to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor—a common, professional practice to best serve clients—EMU attacked and questioned Julea’s religious beliefs and ultimately expelled her from the program because of them.”

Christian Civic League of Maine: Following Tuesday’s hearing, Jeremy Tedesco, an attorney for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, said he believes the Appeals Court will overturn the ruling because it violated Ward’s First Amendment rights.
”Ultimately, the university has a really tough battle here,” Tedesco told FoxNews.com. “The bottom line to us is that this is very clear violation of her First Amendment rights in a couple of different contexts.”

OneNewsNow.com: “The university certainly overstepped its bounds under the First Amendment,” he contends. “The simplest thing for the university to do in this case was to allow Julea to refer the client, which she had a religiously-based conflict with the client. Referral is a very common and accepted professional practice,” the attorney adds.

Fox News: Following Tuesday’s hearing, Jeremy Tedesco, an attorney for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, said he believes the Appeals Court will overturn the ruling because it violated Ward’s First Amendment rights. “Ultimately, the university has a really tough battle here,” Tedesco told FoxNews.com. “The bottom line to us is that this is very clear violation of her First Amendment rights in a couple of different contexts.”

Detroit Free Press: Instead, Jeremy Tedesco of the Alliance Defense Fund told the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, EMU escalated the situation and ended up kicking Ward, then a graduate student, out of its counseling program.

Christian Post: She went to her supervisor and said, ‘I may not be the right person for this particular client,” her attorney, Jeremy Tedesco of the Alliance Defense Fund, told The Christian Post.

Ypsilanti Courier – Heritage Newspapers: Jeremy Tedesco represents Ward on behalf of the Alliance Defense Fund, a national legal organization founded to “defend our First Liberty — religious freedom.” . . . “(Ward) didn’t ask for anything that anyone else hadn’t asked for,” Tedesco said . . .

WSJ: A lower court dismissed Ward’s suit last year. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree,” Jeremy Tedesco, Ward’s attorney, said yesterday in this statement previewing today’s 6th Circuit argument. Tedesco is an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund.

AnnArbor.com: Ward sued EMU in 2009, but lost in the lower courts. Ward and her attorneys, the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization that works to uphold the rights of religious college students and faculty, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District.

ADF attorney available to media after oral argument at 6th Circuit Tuesday
in case involving Michigan graduate student

AnnArbor.com: Ward, who sued EMU in 2009, lost in the lower courts, but Ward and her attorneys, the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization that works to uphold the rights of religious college students and faculty, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District.

ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discusses the Julia Ward case and other efforts to stifle free speech on campus and in the helping professions. | MP3 audio 14:06 mins | Related ADF press release: ADF: Ariz. law protecting student religious expression comes at perfect time

AnnArbor.com: Wa[r]d lost in the lower courts, but Ward and her attorneys, the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization that works to uphold the rights of religious college students and faculty, have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District to step in.

Chuck Colson at the Christian Post: School officials had no problem with “Day of Silence” activities. But when it came to Heidi’s t-shirt, school officials were outraged. A counselor used a black marker to cross out the words “Not Gay,” effectively stifling Heidi’s message. Heidi, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, went to court. It took a ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Heidi’s high school to finally back down. As the court put it, “People in our society do not have a legal right to prevent criticism of their beliefs or even their way of life.”

ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Paul Edwards Program to discuss this: ADF to appeal ruling that allows Eastern Michigan U. to expel Christian students for holding to beliefs. | MP3 audio 11:06 mins

ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the radio to discuss the case of Julia Ward Howe. | The Janet Mefferd Show; MP3 audio 18:22 mins | The Hugh Hewitt Show; MP3 audio 5:32 mins

ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco writes at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: Non-profit advocacy groups often raise funds by highlighting the actions of groups their donors oppose, and I have no gripe with Lambda highlighting Julea Ward’s important civil rights case to its donors. In fact, it could be viewed as a form of flattery that Lambda’s letter spills most of its ink on ADF cases. My problem is with the letter’s complete misrepresentation of Ms. Ward’s case (there appear to be other inaccuracies in the letter that exceed the scope of this post).

ABA Journal: “The religious freedoms enshrined in our Constitution do not evaporate when you step on campus,” said Schuette in an online statement announcing the filing of the brief (PDF posted by the Chronicle of Higher Education). Ward and her lawyers at the Alliance Defense Fund contend the school violated her right to the free exercise of religion when it ousted her in 2009. The school, on the other hand, says it dismissed Ward because she didn’t follow an ethics code that requires counselors to set aside their personal beliefs when counseling clients.

Detroit Free Press: “Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has waded into a closely watched federal appeals case, siding with an Eastern Michigan University student who claims her dismissal from the university for refusing to counsel gay and lesbian patients violated her religious belief against homosexuality . . . But that’s not how Ward sees it. She and her attorneys at the Alliance Defense Fund say the case is about religious discrimination.”

Robert Knight writes at the Washington Times: “Christians, Orthodox Jews or anyone with traditional views of sex and marriage should be barred from state university counseling programs unless they agree to violate their beliefs. That’s the gist of theamicus brief the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed Feb. 11 in a case in which a Christian student is challenging her dismissal from a graduate counseling program at Eastern Michigan University in 2009.”

Opposing Views opinion by Americans U. for Separation of Church and State: Julea Ward, a self-described “orthodox Christian,” filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging that school officials violated her free speech and religious liberty rights. Represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, she claims she cannot “affirm any behavior that goes against what the Bible says” and would always refer to other counselors “all clients who seek counseling for sexual relationship issues she believes to be against the teachings of the Bible.”

AnnArbor.com: “Despite losses in the lower courts, Ward and her attorneys, the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization that works to uphold the rights of religious college students and faculty, have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District to step in. The ACLU believes EMU should win this round as well.”

ACLU: “The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan filed a friend-of-the-court brief today supporting Eastern Michigan University’s (EMU’s) right to remove from its counseling program a graduate student who refused to counsel lesbian, gay and bisexual clients on any issues relating to same-sex relationships during her clinical training. The graduate student, Julea Ward, was in training to become a school counselor . . . The ACLU’s amicus brief can be found at: www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/ward-v-wilbanks-amicus-brief.”

National Association of Scholars: “The National Association of Scholars (NAS) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case Ward v. Wilbanks, a case before the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Julea Ward was a student who was expelled from the Eastern Michigan University counseling program after she expressed her religious convictions about homosexuality to some of her professors . . . The Alliance Defense Fund is representing Julea Ward in a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University. NAS calls on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the district court‘s denial of Ward‘s motion for summary judgment.”

ADF Attorney Joe Martins writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a resounding decision in favor of free speech by invalidating several unconstitutional speech codes. In McCauley v. University of the Virgin Islands, the Court struck down campus policies banning expression that is ‘offensive,’ ‘unauthorized,’ or which causes ‘emotional distress.’”

Dr. Joseph J. Horton writing at The Center for Vision & Values: “While I am neither a clinical psychologist, nor a counselor, I do have some graduate training in clinical psychology. I am confident that Judge Steeh’s ruling not only harms religious freedom, it will harm counseling and ultimately harm those who seek counseling. Proponents of the decision are attacking a belief system they find particularly odious, but they are also attacking the freedom of counselors to best meet people’s needs. The issue is whether a given counselor should counsel any and every client. Historically, the answer to this question has been that counselors should not counsel every possible client . . . Ms. Ward was striving to treat homosexual clients with integrity and respect for their right of self-determination.”

ADF News Center: “You may have just heard [Alan Sears] on the Focus on the Family radio broadcast. As he explained on the program, religious freedom in America is under attack by advocates of the homosexual agenda. The goal of these radical activists is to silence and punish Christians so that they can force their agenda on our families, schools, churches, and even our military.”

PrideSource: “Ward’s counsel, the Alliance Defense Fund, which represents religious cases throughout the country, refused Between The Lines’ request for an interview. However, in a press release they stated their belief that, ‘(The remediation plan’s) purpose was to help her “see the error of her ways” and change her “belief system” as it relates to counseling about homosexual relationships.’ David Kaplan, chief professional officer for the American Counseling Association – the organization that provides the Code of Ethics to which Eastern’s program follows – disagreed that Eastern had any intention to change Ward’s beliefs, but instead handled the situation appropriately by allowing her an opportunity to be trained.”

ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on WTBN with Bill Bunkley to discuss the Julia Ward case. | MP3 11:56 mins | ADF Media: Ward v. Wilbanks resource page

PrideSource: “Ward’s counsel, the Alliance Defense Fund, has said that it will appeal the decision to a higher court. They are fighting not only that the university violated the First Amendment, but also that Ward was not allowed due process because of how the formal review was conducted, challenging her religious beliefs toward more than just homosexuality in terms of counseling.”

Advocate.com: “In her lawsuit, filed with support from the Alliance Defense Fund, Ward charged that her dismissal for refusing to treat the gay client violated her rights to free speech, religion, and due process. ADF lawyer [Jeremy Tedesco] said his group would press the case as far as necessary, according to AnnArbor.com.”

SDGLN: “A group of Christian lawyers helping to represent Ward, the Alliance Defense Fund, said in a statement on Tuesday that they plan to appeal the judge’s ruling. ‘Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for holding to their beliefs,’ ADF Senior Counsel David French said, according to AllianceDefenseFund.org.”

OneNewsNow: “[Jordan Lorence], senior counsel with ADF, is disappointed by the federal judge’s decision [in Ward v. Eastern Michigan University] because, as he says, ‘it basically has no respect for the right of conscience of Christians or other people who have sincere beliefs about the proper definition of marriage and whether certain sexual behaviors can be immoral.’”

Leonard Link: “The Alliance Defense Fund, which brought the case as part of its new anti-gay offensive seeking to create exceptions to sexual orientation discrimination policies for religious objectors, will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Ward v. Wilbanks, No. 09-CV-11237 (E.D. Mich.) . . . This case is reminiscent of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Christian Legal Society case, where the Alliance Defense Fund was arguing that its client was entitled to an exemption from the Law School’s non-discrimination policy as a matter of free exercise of religion.”

First Amendment Center (AP): “[ADF Attorney David French] said, ‘Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for holding to their beliefs. When a public university has a prerequisite of affirming homosexual behavior as morally good in order to obtain a degree, the school is stepping over the legal line. Julea did the responsible thing and followed her supervising professor’s advice to have the client referred to a counselor who did not have a conscience issue with the very matter to be discussed in counseling.’”

Washington Examiner / Beltway Confidential: “Now a court has upheld the expulsion of a Christian student at a public university in Michigan over her personal beliefs on homosexuality: . . . ‘It’s a very dangerous precedent,’ Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told FOX News Radio.”

Beliefnet: “Monday’s ruling could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views. ‘It’s a very dangerous precedent,’ said [Jeremy Tedesco], attorney for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. ‘The ruling doesn’t say that explicitly, but that’s what is going to happen.’”

OneNewsNow: “[David French], senior counsel for ADF, argued last month before the U.S. District Court that ‘Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs.’”

Religion Clause: “In Ward v. Wilbanks, (ED MI, July 26 2010), a Michigan federal district court upheld Eastern Michigan University’s dismissal of a student from its graduate program in counseling because of her objections to counseling clients on their same-sex relationships, in violation of professional counseling standards . . . [T]he court rejected Ward’s free exercise and Establishment Clause claims: ‘Plaintiff was not required to change her views or religious beliefs; she was required to set them aside in the counselor-client relationship – a neutral, generally applicable expectation of all counselors-to-be under the ACA standard’ . . . Alliance Defense Fund which represented the student said in a release yesterday that it would appeal the decision.”

The Eastern Echo: “Alliance Defense Fund attorneys are planning to appeal the dismissal of the case involving a former master’s student in Eastern Michigan University’s counseling program . . . In a press release, ADF Senior Counsel [David French] said Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for ‘holding to and abiding by their beliefs.’” | ADF News Release

The Washington Post / College Inc.: In a pair of recent court cases, a university’s interest in enforcing anti-bias rules collides with the rights of individual students to follow their Christian beliefs . . . ‘A public university student shouldn’t be threatened with expulsion for being a Christian and refusing to publicly renounce her faith,’ said ADF Senior Counsel [David French], in a statement. ‘Simply put, the university is imposing thought reform.’”

Detroit Free Press: “A lawyer for a national religious liberty group said Tuesday it plans to appeal a federal judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a woman who said she was kicked out of a master’s program at Eastern Michigan University because she refused on religious grounds to counsel a homosexual client. ‘There are aspects of the decision that present appealable issues, and we disagree with the court on his conclusions,’ said [David French], a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund.”

Fox News: “The decision, according to Julea Ward’s attorneys, could result in students across the country being expelled from public universities for similar views . . . ‘It’s a very dangerous precedent,’ [Jeremy Tedesco], legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told FOX News Radio. ‘The ruling doesn’t say that explicitly, but that’s what is going to happen’ . . . ‘Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs,” said ADF senior counsel [David French]. ‘To reach its decision, the court had to do something that’s never been done in federal court: uphold an extremely broad and vague university speech code.’” | ADF News Release

Inside Higher Ed: “[David French], a senior counsel to the Alliance Defense Fund, said that in the Supreme Court case and the Eastern Michigan ruling, ‘a disturbing trend’ is emerging of ‘what I would call excessive deference to university administrators’ to define limits around ‘the market place of ideas.’ French said that, in contrast to the view that academe should feature ‘a freewheeling exchange of ideas,’ these rulings ‘permit restrictions’ on religious students and groups. And he said that the Eastern Michigan ruling may create a new way for public universities to enforce speech codes — simply by making them into curricular requirements.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education: “The Alliance Defense Fund, a coalition of Christian lawyers that is helping to represent the student, Julea Ward, issued a statement on Tuesday saying it plans to appeal the judge’s decision. ‘Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs,’ said [David French], a senior counsel for the group, which helped out in a similar lawsuit filed against Augusta State University, in Georgia, this month.” | ADF News Release

ADF Attorney David French writing at Speak Up Movement / University: Late yesterday afternoon we received word that the federal district court granted the university’s motion for summary judgment dismissing Julea Ward’s case against officials from Eastern Michigan University. The opinion contains a cascading series of assumptions that made it virtually impossible for Julea to prevail, and we will appeal promptly. | ADF News Release