Law
professor
Felicia
Branch
was
fired
by
the
University
of
Arkansas
Little
Rock
William
H.
Bowen
School
of
Law
over
comments
she
made
on
Facebook
concerning
the
death
of
far-right
activist
Charlie
Kirk.
Branch
called
particular
attention
to
the
methods
of
Kirk,
such
as
doxxing
queer
Black
activist
Preston
Mitchum,
and
that
she
would
“not
pull
back
from
CELEBRATING
that
an
evil
man
died
by
the
method
he
chose
to
embrace.”
As
reported
by
the
Arkansas
Times,
“A
parade
of
white
Republicans
in
Arkansas,
including
the
governor
and
the
attorney
general,
quickly
came
for
Branch’s
job.”
And
they
were
ultimately
successful
in
their
efforts
to
remove
a
Black
woman
law
professor
from
her
position.
In
September,
Branch
was
suspended
with
pay
while
the
school
conducted
an
investigation.
But
that
investigation
appears
to
have
been
disingenuous
at
best.
On
September
24th,
Bowen
School
of
Law
Dean
Colin
Crawford
fired
Branch,
writing,
“free
expression
must
be
balanced
against
standards
of
appropriate
professional
behavior.”
Then,
earlier
this
month,
an
appeals
panel
made
up
of
UA
Little
Rock
faculty rejected
that
outcome,
recommending
Branch
receive
a
warning.
But
UA
Little
Rock
Chancellor
Christina
Drale rejected
the
appeals
panel’s
recommendation.
Instead,
Drale
upheld
Branch’s
termination,
writing
that
Branch’s
posts
were
disruptive
to
“the
operation
and
effectiveness
of
the
Low-Income
Taxpayer
Clinic,
the
Bowen
School
of
Law,
and
UA
Little
Rock.”
The
irony
is
palpable
that
Branch
is
getting
fired
for
her
own
controversial
statements
when
Kirk
made
a
career
of
making
controversial
statements.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
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@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].