FIRE is pleased to announce the publication of “Putting Their Money Where Their Mouth Is: The Case for Denying Qualified Immunity to University Administrators For Violating Student Speech Rights,” an article by our Associate Director of Legal and Public Advocacy Azhar Majeed, in the Cardozo Public Law, Policy and Ethics Journal. The article argues that given the clear state of the law on campus speech codes, administrators responsible for maintaining these unconstitutional policies at public universities should not be shielded by qualified immunity against personal liability for monetary damages. Furthermore, qualified immunity should not protect administrators in the most common types of applied free speech violations. Majeed expresses the hope that if responsible administrators do not enjoy qualified immunity and therefore are faced with personal liability for their actions, they will have greater incentives to uphold students’ First Amendment rights on campus, both in policy and in practice.
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About FIRE
The mission of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is to defend and sustain individual rights at America's colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience — the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity. FIRE's core mission is to protect the unprotected and to educate the public and communities of concerned Americans about the threats to these rights on our campuses and about the means to preserve them.
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