by
Joe
Raedle/Getty
Images)
Law
schools
love
to
talk
about
preparing
students
for
the
real
world
—
a
place
where
constitutional
arguments
matter
and
administrative
authority
occasionally
runs
smack
into
the
First
Amendment.
One
student
at
Campbell
University
School
of
Law
says
his
school
might
be
getting
an
object
lesson
in
both.
According
to
reporting
from
The
News
&
Observer,
Campbell
Law
student
Justin
Booker
has
lodged
a
complaint
against
the
school
after
administrators
removed
flyers
he
posted
around
the
Raleigh
campus
following
the
death
of
conservative
activist
Charlie
Kirk.
The
posters
featured
images
of
Kirk
and
his
family
alongside
the
message,
“End
Political
Violence.”
Not
exactly
a
call
to
storm
the
barricades.
Still,
the
school
removed
the
flyers
and
issued
Booker
a
disciplinary
warning.
Administrators
reportedly
told
him
the
posters
violated
a
policy
against
“personal
messages.”
Booker
says
he
went
looking
for
that
rule
and…
came
up
empty.
“I
filed
a
formal
complaint
with
the
administration
about
this,
because
not
only
is
this
a
free
speech
issue,
it
actually
risks
the
law
school’s
accreditation,”
Booker
said.
“It
says
that
explicitly
in
ABA
standards
that
they
have
to
follow
the
First
Amendment
jurisprudence.
So
the
fact
that
they’re
not
doing
that,
and
they
have
explicitly
refused
to
do
that,
actually
is
crazy.”
Booker
appealed
the
removal
of
his
flyers,
and
the
disciplinary
warning,
to
the
faculty
committee
on
student
life.
The
committee
sided
with
the
administration.
So
did
Campbell
Law
Dean
J.
Rich
Leonard,
who
affirmed
the
decision
and
upheld
the
poster
removal.
At
that
point,
Booker
decided
to
escalate
things
by
involving
the
Foundation
for
Individual
Rights
and
Expression
(FIRE).
The
free
speech
ideologues
have
themselves
a
pretty
strong
argument
and
are
demanding
an
answer
from
the
school’s
administration
by
March
17th,
because
they’re
not
buying
the
school’s
explanation.
“It’s
particularly
noteworthy
that
other
political
content
was
allowed
to
stay
posted,
as
was
other
commercial
content,”
said
FIRE
program
officer
Dominic
Colletti,
who
authored
the
letter
to
Campbell.
“It’s
really
hard
to
come
up
with
a
policy-based
explanation
for
this,
other
than
they
did
not
like
the
image
of
Charlie
Kirk.
That
is
the
most
likely
explanation
here
and
they
haven’t
given
us
another.”
For
his
part,
Booker
says
he
isn’t
looking
to
burn
the
place
down.
He
just
wants
the
administration
to
admit
they
got
it
wrong.
“All
I
really
want
from
this
is
for
the
people
who
did
the
wrong
thing
to
admit
they
did
wrong,
promise
they
won’t
do
it
again
to
me
or
anyone
else,
and
apologize,”
Booker
said.
“Instead,
I
have
been
brushed
off,
ignored,
disrespected,
and
censored.
No
due
process,
no
transparency,
and
no
one
actually
willing
to
address
my
concerns.”
In
a
statement
to
The
News
&
Observer,
the
university
said:
“Campbell
University
has
received
a
letter
from
FIRE,
inquiring
about
the
response
to
flyers
posted
by
a
student
within
the
Campbell
Law
building.
The
letter
asked
for
an
institutional
response
by
next
week.
Campbell
University
is
currently
reviewing
the
letter,
the
internal
complaint
and
the
Campbell
Law
student
organizational
communication
and
promotion
policy.
We
plan
to
respond
to
FIRE
after
examining
all
relevant
information.”
With
FIRE
demanding
an
explanation
by
next
week,
Campbell
Law
now
has
a
chance
to
clarify
its
policies
—
and
demonstrate
that
the
institution
charged
with
training
future
lawyers
understands
the
constitutional
principles
those
lawyers
are
supposed
to
defend.
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
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].