Appeals Court Rules Speech First’s Student-Members Can Remain Anonymous in Lawsuit Against Oklahoma State University

Students at Oklahoma State University (OSU) accused officials of violating their free speech rights. They alleged that the school is censoring their speech based on viewpoint.

Speech First, a First Amendment advocacy group, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of its student-members, citing a regulation called the Bias Reporting System, under which students may anonymously report other students for participating in so-called bias actions. The regulation is “so vague that it can easily be applied to a wide swath of protected,” the organization said. A computer policy bans students from using school email accounts for political (read: conservative) speech.

The district court ruled that Speech First’s anonymous student-members must reveal their legal names in order for the case to proceed. The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit last Friday overruled this decision.

“Longstanding and well-established doctrine in the federal courts establishes that anonymous persons may have standing to bring claims,” the court contended (PDF).

The court added that there has been a long tradition of plaintiffs filing lawsuits under an alias on the federal level. Roe v. Wade (1973) is one example.

Alliance Defending Freedom filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of Young America’s Foundation and the Manhattan Institute.

Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at Manhattan Institute, said the issue resolved by the Tenth Circuit “may seem narrow but it’s a big deal. I’m gratified that the students can continue challenging their university’s illiberal policies and actions without subjecting themselves to official sanction and unofficial cancellation.”

Cherise Trump, executive director of Speech First, said (PDF) that OSU “attempted to use our students’ fear against them by getting the case dismissed because we would not use their legal names.” She added that the members’ anonymity “is beyond important; without it, students would be left open to the whims of authoritarian college administrators or faculty who are determined to censor, compel, and coerce student speech.”

Photo credit: Eric E Johnson (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved

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