University Pays Christian Students $90K to Settle Free Speech Lawsuit

The University of Idaho (U of I) paid $90,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by three Christian students and a faculty advisor who claimed the university violated their right to free speech.

The lawsuit was filed after the university issued no-contact orders prohibiting Peter Perlot Mark Miller and Ryan Anderson, all members of the Christian Legal Society (CLS), and faculty advisor Professor Richard Seamon from interacting with a law student who disagreed with a CLS requirement that all members define marriage as between a man and a woman, according to the lawsuit’s text. U of I rescinded the no-contact orders in a settlement in favor of the legal society, ADF announced in Wednesday’s press release.

“Universities cannot punish students and professors simply for peacefully expressing their viewpoints on campus, and we are grateful the court recognized that,” Mathew Hoffmann, legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The ‘no-contact orders’ issued by the University of Idaho are just the latest attempts to silence speech on campus. But, as the court found, these orders violated the First Amendment. The court’s decision and this settlement have vindicated our clients’ freedom to engage in the campus marketplace of ideas.”… (Excerpt from The Georgia Star News)