MIAMI, Ohio — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund obtained a settlement Monday in
Gilles v. Hodge, bringing to end a five-year legal battle over Miami University’s speech policy that prohibited a Christian man from exercising his First Amendment rights on campus because he didn’t have a permit. Campus security threatened Jim Gilles and a friend with arrest because they were sharing their faith on campus.
“Christians shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “No one should be threatened with arrest or be required to have a permit to exercise their constitutional free speech rights. The university did the right thing when it revised its speech policy to respect the rights citizens have under the First Amendment.”
On Oct. 14, 2002, Gilles visited the campus of Miami University with another man and shared a Christian message with passers-by. After approximately 45 minutes, campus security approached the two men and informed them that free speech was not allowed on university property without a permit. The officer threatened them with arrest if they continued. When the men went to the campus security office, they were told they could only speak on sidewalks and streets outside of the campus.
In October 2004, ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the university’s speech restrictions. On April 20, 2007, the federal court upheld the university’s speech restrictions, but ADF attorneys subsequently appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which
reversed the lower court ruling. The university then revised their policies to affirm the First Amendment rights of campus visitors, which resulted in settlement of the case.
“Exercising your First Amendment rights is not a crime,” said Scruggs. “We are pleased that the university has now issued new policies that affirm, rather than deny, those rights.”
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
www.telladf.org