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Speech First, Inc. v. Sands

Petition for writ of certiorari granted, judgment with respect to the Bias Policy claims vacated, and case remanded to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit with instructions to dismiss those claims as moot under United States v. Munsingwear, Inc.

Docket No.23-156
Op. Below4th Cir.

Issue

Whether university bias-response teams " official entities that solicit, track, and investigate reports of bias; ask to meet with perpetrators; and threaten to refer students for formal discipline " objectively chill students" speech in violation of the First Amendment.

Proceedings & orders timeline

Aug 14, 2023
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 18, 2023)
Aug 30, 2023
Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 18, 2023 to October 18, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
Aug 31, 2023
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including October 18, 2023.
Sep 14, 2023
Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Moral Law filed.
Sep 15, 2023
Brief amicus curiae of Southeastern Legal Foundation filed.
Sep 15, 2023
Brief amici curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed.
Sep 18, 2023
Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed.
Sep 18, 2023
Brief amicus curiae of The Buckeye Institute filed.
Sep 18, 2023
Brief amicus curiae of Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Inc. filed.
Sep 18, 2023
Brief amicus curiae of Parents Defending Education filed.
Sep 18, 2023
Brief amici curiae of Americans for Prosperity Foundation, et al. filed.
Sep 18, 2023
Brief amici curiae of Alumni Free Speech Alliance, et al. filed.
Sep 18, 2023
Brief amici curiae of Alliance Defending Freedom, et al. filed.
Oct 18, 2023
Brief of respondent Timothy Sands, in his individual capacity and official capacity as President of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, et al. in response filed.
Oct 18, 2023
Lodging proposal letter under Rule 32.3 of respondent filed.
Oct 26, 2023
Reply of petitioner Speech First, Inc. filed.
Nov 1, 2023
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/17/2023.
Nov 27, 2023
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/1/2023.
Dec 1, 2023
Rescheduled.
Dec 1, 2023
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/8/2023.
Jan 2, 2024
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2024.
Jan 8, 2024
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2024.
Jan 16, 2024
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/19/2024.
Feb 9, 2024
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/16/2024.
Feb 20, 2024
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/23/2024.
Feb 26, 2024
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/1/2024.
Mar 4, 2024
Petition 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).
Apr 5, 2024
Judgment Issued.

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