Federal Judge Glen H. Davidson dismissed fired University of Mississippi employee Lauren Stokes’ lawsuit against UM Chancellor Glenn Boyce on Monday, March 16.
In his opinion, Davidson wrote that the plaintiff had failed to make a case that her First Amendment rights had been infringed upon.
“Having failed to show a violation of her constitutional rights or the unlawfulness of the Defendant’s conduct was ‘clearly established at the time’ of the alleged misconduct, the Court finds the Defendant is entitled to qualified immunity and the Plaintiff’s First Amendment retaliation claim against the Defendant in his individual capacity must be dismissed,” the opinion said.
On Tuesday, Stokes’ attorney Alysson Mills told the Mississippi Free Press that Stokes plans to appeal Davidson’s ruling.
“This is not the law as we understand it,” Mills said. “This is the heckler’s veto. We intend to appeal to defend the rights of employees at the University of Mississippi.”
Stokes was fired from her position as executive assistant for the vice chancellor for development at the university on Sept. 11 after she reposted on her personal Instagram account on Sept. 10 a post from another user that condemned the beliefs of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed at Utah Valley University earlier that day.
An appeal would be heard by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
