That goofy-looking, upside-down mask (mostly not-) wearing former Yale baseball team meathead (admitted as an athletic / legacy name, I’m reliably informed) from the early 1990s. . . has been inadvertently schooled this week in US Constitutional law, by the ACLU and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP — and his betters. But I repeat myself. [Prior backgrounder here.]
Here is NPR on the latest:
. . .The university’s earlier decision, which was revealed last week through documents filed in federal court, was widely criticized as an infringement of the professors’ First Amendment rights.
The case was particularly under scrutiny because the lawsuit targeted legislation, supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that inhibited access to the ballot — and the school has strong ties to the governor.
University of Florida President Kent Fuchs said in a letter released Friday that he had asked the university’s conflict of interest office to reverse the decision and “approve the requests regardless of personal compensation, assuming the activity is on their own time without using university resources. . . .”
UF professors Daniel Smith, Sharon Austin and Michael McDonald were originally denied the opportunity to testify; they are all experts on voting rights and elections. Their lawyers say that since the university’s original decision to bar them from testifying is still a violation of their First Amendment rights, the professors are still considering their legal options.
“The fact remains that the University curtailed their First Amendment rights and academic freedoms, and as long as the University’s policy remains, those rights and freedoms are at risk,” David A. O’Neil and Paul Donnelly, lawyers for the professors, said in a statement. . . .
Now you know — baby steps forward, in Florida, it seems. Ugh.
नमस्ते
Powerline Lies... 