Both parties in the free speech lawsuit involving the University of Michigan have decided to settle the case outside the court and save the legal costs.
Last year in May, ‘Speech First’, a non-profit organization working for the right to speech, filed a lawsuit against the University of Michigan in the district court in East Michigan.
The basis of the suit was that the university has suppressed and punished free speech and violated students’ constitutional rights.
In the initial hearing, the court ruled out Speech FIrst’s argument, stating that the Washington based non-profit organization had no standing to call for any action. However, that ruling was nullified and the case returned to the lower court again on September 23.
University of Michigan and Speech First Inc. settle
Before proceeding for the next hearing, the University of Michigan and Speech First decided to settle the case. In the settlement, the university admitted having done nothing against the law. Also, no monetary exchange was made. However, the university has accepted to make the necessary changes to the speech policies and hereby banning the ‘Bias Response Team’.
The team was made to ensure that the minority and LGBT groups are not verbally harassed on the campus. The ‘bias response team’ had investigated more than 150 cases of speech and bias since 2017. However, after a series of court hearings, settlement papers were presented to the court last week.
As a result of the case, the Bias Response Team was replaced by the Campus Climate Support Team. The motto is to protect anyone who feels attacked by the campus climate. The new team can’t contact the students who are accused or suspected of misconduct.
University of Michigan spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald said that the settlement is proof that nothing wrong was done and the suit was futile and the university is fully committed to protecting free speech.
Speech First President Nicole Neily feels this is a victory for students and their first amendment rights. In her statement, she told that Speech First has always stood up for the students who are too intimidated by the university laws to suppress free speech.
