Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Speech First, Inc. v. Timothy Sands, Individually and in His Official Capacity as President of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 21-2061 · judgment May 31, 2023
Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a petition filed soon after the judgment below, a business petitioner, and counsel who has filed here before.
Question presented
Hundreds of universities have a “bias-response team”—an official entity that solicits reports of bias, tracks them, investigates them, asks to meet with the perpetrators, and threatens to refer students for formal discipline. Universities formally define “bias” to cover wide swaths of protected speech. Bias-response teams are staffed by administrators, disciplinarians, and even police officers—a literal speech police. The Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuits hold that bias-response teams objectively chill students’ speech; but the Fourth and Seventh Circuits hold that they don’t. Compare Speech First, Inc. v. Schlissel, 939 F.3d 756 (6th Cir. 2019); Speech First, Inc. v. Fenves, 979 F.3d 319 (5th Cir. 2020); Speech First, Inc. v. Cartwright, 32 F.4th 1110 (11th Cir. 2022), with Speech First, Inc. v. Sands, 69 F.4th 184 (4th Cir. 2023); Speech First, Inc. v. Killeen, 968 F.3d 628 (7th Cir. 2020). All five cases in this 3-2 split involve the same plaintiff, the same procedural posture, and the same basic facts. To quote Judge Wilkinson’s dissent below: “This circuit split creates a patchwork of First Amendment jurisprudence for schools across the country” on “the vitally important issue of free speech.” Appendix (App.) 73. The question presented is: Whether bias-response teams objectively chill students’ speech.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
John Michael Connolly
Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
For respondent
William Henry Hurd
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 9 conferences
Amicus briefs
10 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Apr 05 2024Judgment Issued.
- Mar 04 2024Petition GRANTED. The judgment with respect to the Bias Policy claims is VACATED, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit with instructions to dismiss those claims as moot. See United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U. S. 36 (1950). Justice Jackson, dissenting: I would deny the petition. In my view, the party seeking vacatur has not established equitable entitlement to that remedy. See Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, 601 U. S. ___ (2023) (Jackson, J., concurring in the judgment). Justice Thomas, with whom Justice Alito joins, dissenting. (Detached Opinion).
- Feb 26 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/1/2024.
- Feb 20 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/23/2024.
- Feb 09 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/16/2024.
- Jan 16 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/19/2024.
- Jan 08 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2024.
- Jan 02 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2024.
- Dec 01 2023Rescheduled.
- Dec 01 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/8/2023.
- Nov 27 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/1/2023.
- Nov 01 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/17/2023.
- Oct 26 2023Reply of petitioner Speech First, Inc. filed.
- Oct 18 2023Brief of respondent Timothy Sands, in his individual capacity and official capacity as President of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, et al. in response filed.
- Oct 18 2023Lodging proposal letter under Rule 32.3 of respondent filed.
- Sep 18 2023Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed.
- Sep 18 2023Brief amicus curiae of The Buckeye Institute filed.
- Sep 18 2023Brief amicus curiae of Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Inc. filed.
- Sep 18 2023Brief amicus curiae of Parents Defending Education filed.
- Sep 18 2023Brief amici curiae of Americans for Prosperity Foundation, et al. filed.
- Sep 18 2023Brief amici curiae of Alumni Free Speech Alliance, et al. filed.
- Sep 18 2023Brief amici curiae of Alliance Defending Freedom, et al. filed.
- Sep 15 2023Brief amicus curiae of Southeastern Legal Foundation filed.
- Sep 15 2023Brief amici curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed.
- Sep 14 2023Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Moral Law filed.
- Aug 31 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including October 18, 2023.
- Aug 30 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 18, 2023 to October 18, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
- Aug 14 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 18, 2023)