Federal Circuits, 4th Cir. (April 10, 1973)
Docket number: 72-1630
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U.S. Supreme Court - Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169 (1972)
U.S. Supreme Court - Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe, 402 U.S. 415 (1971)
U.S. Supreme Court - New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 <I>(per curiam)</I> (1971)
U.S. Supreme Court - Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist., 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
U.S. Supreme Court - Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 (1969)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Cir. - Catherine M. Stanley, Jeffrey A. Goldberg, Michael Douglas, and Christopher Ison, Each Individually and as Editors of the Minnesota Daily, the Minnesota Daily, and the Board of Student Publications, Appellants, v. C. Peter Magrath, Individually and as President of the University of Minnesota, and Charles H. Casey, William B. Dosland, Erwin L. Goldfine, Lauris D. Krenik, Robert Latz, David M. Lebedoff, Charles F. Mcguiggan, Wenda Moore, Lloyd H. Peterson, Mary T. Schertler, Neil C. Sherburne, Michael W. Unger, Verne Long, Willis Drake, and David Roe, Each Individually and as a Member of the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, Appellees., 719 F.2d 279 (8th Cir. 1983) Jeffrey A. Goldberg, Michael Douglas, and Christopher Ison, Each Individually and as Editors of the Minnesota Daily, the Minnesota Daily, and the Board of Student Publications, Appellants, v. C. Peter Magrath, Individually and as President of the University of Minnesota, and Charles H. Casey, William B. Dosland, Erwin L. Goldfine, Lauris D. Krenik, Robert Latz, David M. Lebedoff, Charles F. Mcguiggan, Wenda Moore, Lloyd H. Peterson, Mary T. Schertler, Neil C. Sherburne, Michael W. Unger, Verne Long, Willis Drake, and David Roe, Each Individually and as a Member of the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, Appellees.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Cir. - Charles Kincaid, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, and Capri Coffer, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Betty Gibson, individually and in her official capacity as Vice President of Student Affairs of Kentucky State University; Mary Smith, individually and in her official capacity as President of Kentucky State University; Dr. William Parker, George H. Helton, Robert E. Ison, Valinda E. Livingston, Veleria Shavers, Dr. Richard Taylor, Michele C. Coleman, M. Anthony Howard, Joyce Ann Johnson, Dr. Anthony T. Remson, and Curtis D. Sullivan, all individually and in their official capacities as Regents of Kentucky State University, Defendants-Appellees., 191 F.3d 719 (6th Cir. 1999) individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, and Capri Coffer, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Betty Gibson, individually and in her official capacity as Vice President of Student Affairs of Kentucky State University; Mary Smith, individually and in her official capacity as President of Kentucky State University; Dr. William Parker, George H. Helton, Robert E. Ison, Valinda E. Livingston, Veleria Shavers, Dr. Richard Taylor, Michele C. Coleman, M. Anthony Howard, Joyce Ann Johnson, Dr. Anthony T. Remson, and Curtis D. Sullivan, all individually and in their official capacities as Regents of Kentucky State University, Defendants-Appellees.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Cir. - Husain v. Springer (2nd Cir. 2007)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Cir. - Hosty, Margaret v. Carter, Patricia (7th Cir. 2005)
Professor Daniel H. Pollitt, Chapel Hill, N. C. (Norman B. Smith, Smith, Patterson, Follin & Curtis, Greensboro, N. C., James V. Rowan, and Paul, Keenan & Rowan, Durham, N. C., on brief), for appellants.
Burley B. Mitchell, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen. (Robert Morgan, Atty. Gen. of North Carolina, on brief), for appellee.John R. Jordan, Jr., Raleigh, N. C. (Jordan, Morris & Hoke, Raleigh, N. C., on brief), amicus curiae, Board of Governors of University of North Carolina; Professor William W. Van Alstyne, Durham, N. C., amicus curiae.Before HAYNSWORTH, Chief Judge, and BUTZNER and FIELD, Circuit Judges.BUTZNER, Circuit Judge:Johnnie Edward Joyner, editor of the Campus Echo, the official student newspaper of North Carolina Central University, and Harvey Lee White, president of the university's student government association, appeal from an order of the district court, which (a) denied their application for declaratory and injunctive relief to secure reinstatement of financial support for the Echo, and (b) permanently enjoined Albert N. Whiting, president of the university, and his successors in office, from granting future financial support to any campus newspaper. Joyner v. Whiting, 341 F. Supp. 1244 (M.D.N.C.1972). Joyner and White assert that the decree violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. President Whiting urges affirmance on the ground that the paper's segregationist editorial policy and racially discriminatory practices violate the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We reverse because the president's irrevocable withdrawal of financial support from the Echo and the court's decree reinforcing this action abridge the freedom of the press in violation of the First Amendment.* EDITORIAL COMMENTThe first issue of the Echo under Joyner's editorship published a banner headline on the front page that asked, "Is NCCU Still a Black School," and an article entitled, "Look and You Shall See," which stated in part:"There is a rapidly growing white population on our campus.____* * *"We want to know why they are here. How many are here? Why more and more come every year (by the hundreds)?____* * *"But I think that the reason we will be taken over so quickly and so easily is our fault."Black students on this campus have never made it clear to those people that we are indeed separate from them, in so many ways, and wish to remain so. And until we assume the role of a strong, proud people we will continue to be co-opted. Until we chose to make this clear, by any means necessary, the same thing will continue to happen . . . ."I maintain that we must pick up the cry of Frantz Fanan who has said, 'Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it.' And the words of H. Rap Brown, 'I do what I must out of the love for my people. My will is to fight. Resistance is not enough. Aggression is the order of the day.' And more over that we take nothing from the oppressor, but only in turn get that which is ours."Now will you tell me, whose institution is NCCU? Theirs? Or ours?"In addition, the paper contained a survey of student opinion which reflected strong opposition to the admission of white students.President Whiting responded with the following letter to Joyner:"In my view the September 16 issue of the Campus Echo does not meet standard journalistic criteria nor does it represent fairly the full spectrum of views on this campus. Because of this, I am writing to advise that funds for the publication of additional issues will be withheld until agreement can be reached regarding the standards to which further publications will adhere."If consensus cannot be established then this University will not sponsor a campus newspaper. That portion of remaining funds collected or allocated to the Campus Echo budget will accrue to the credit of all contributing students for this school year."1Despite a meeting to resolve the differences, no agreement could be reached. The president's counsel then advised him that because North Carolina Central University is a state institution he could not constitutionally refuse to financially support the newspaper if his refusal was contingent on the paper's meeting journalistic standards or other subjective criteria. Accordingly, acting on advice of counsel, the president irrevocably terminated the paper's financial support and refunded to each student the pro rata share of the activities fee previously allocated to the Echo. The president took no action to bar Joyner, or any other student, from publishing and circulating a privately funded newspaper on the campus. Indeed, several issues of the Echo were published without the university's financial support, but it became apparent that the paper could not survive unless it received its usual subsidy from the student activities fees.Fortunately, we travel through well charted waters to determine whether the permanent denial of financial support to the newspaper because of its editorial policy abridged the freedom of the press. The First Amendment is fully applicable to the states, Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652, 666, 45 S.Ct. 625, 69 L.Ed. 1138 (1925); Stromberg v. California, 283 U.S. 359, 368, 51 S.Ct. 532, 75 L.Ed. 1117 (1931), and precedent establishes "that state colleges and universities are not enclaves immune from [its] sweep." A college, acting "as the instrumentality of the State, may not restrict speech . . . simply because it finds the views expressed by any group to be abhorrent." Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169, 180, 187, 92 S.Ct. 2338, 2345, 2349, 33 L.Ed.2d 266 (1972); see Wright, The Constitution on the Campus, 22 Vand.L.Rev. 1027, 1037 (1969). It may well be that a college need not establish a campus newspaper, or, if a paper has been established, the college may permanently discontinue publication for reasons wholly unrelated to the First Amendment. But if a college has a student newspaper, its publication cannot be suppressed because college officials dislike its editorial comment. Panarella v. Birenbaum, 37 A.D.2d 987, 327 N.Y.S.2d 755, 757 (1971); cf. Danskin v. San Diego Unified School Dist., 28 Cal.2d 536, 171 P.2d 885, 892 (1946).2 This rule is but a simple extension of the precept that freedom of expression may not be infringed by denying a privilege. Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398, 404, 83 S. Ct. 1790, 10 L.Ed.2d 965 (1963).The principles reaffirmed in Healy have been extensively applied to strike down every form of censorship of student publications at state-supported institutions. Censorship of constitutionally protected expression cannot be imposed by suspending the editors,3 suppressing circulation,4 requiring imprimatur of controversial articles,5 excising repugnant material,6 withdrawing financial support,7 or asserting any other form of censorial oversight based on the institution's power of the purse.8But the freedom of the press enjoyed by students is not absolute or unfettered. Students, like all other citizens, are forbidden advocacy which "is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action." See Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 447, 89 S.Ct. 1827, 1829, 23 L.Ed.2d 430 (1969). Tinker v. Des Moines Ind. Community School Dist., 393 U.S. 503, 513, 89 S.Ct. 733, 740, 21 L.Ed.2d 731 (1969), expressly limits the free and unrestricted expression of opinion in schools to instances where it does not "materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school." We previously considered these limitations in Quarterman v. Byrd, 453 F.2d 54, 58 (4th Cir. 1971):"Specifically, school authorities may by appropriate regulation, exercise prior restraint upon publications distributed on school premises during school hours in those special circumstances where they can 'reasonably "forecast substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities" ' on account of the distribution of such printed material."In his brief President Whiting acknowledges that there does not appear to have been any danger of physical violence or disruption at the university because of the publication of the Echo. The record, of course, does disclose that the paper's message of racial devisiveness and antagonism was distasteful to the president, and it may well have offended other members of the university community. However, no white faculty members or students complained that the paper's editorial policy incited anybody at the university to harass or interfere with them. The case, therefore, does not present a situation that Brandenburg, Tinker, and Quarterman recognize as justifying restriction of free expression.As a foundation for its decree, the district court fashioned a unique exception to the well established body of law dealing with censorship of college newspapers. Describing the Echo as a state agency, the court upheld the termination of its funding by the university on the ground that the Fourteenth Amendment and Civil Rights Act of 1964 bar a state agency from spending state funds to discourage racial integration of the university "by a program of harassment, discourtesy, and indicia of unwelcome."Censorship of the paper cannot be sustained on the court's theory. The record contains no proof that the editorial policy of the paper incited harassment, violence, or interference with white students and faculty. At the most, the editorial comments advocated racial segregation contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court's rationale disregards the distinction between the First Amendment's clause prohibiting the establishment of religion and its clause protecting freedom of the press. Neither federal nor state governments may expend funds to establish a religion. The First Amendment, however, contains no similar ban against speech or press. Both governments may spend money to publish the positions they take on controversial subjects. The speeches and publications that originate in government offices attest to the diversity of views that are freely expounded. But under the rule that President Whiting urges us to affirm, no state official could use his office to criticize, as the editor of the Echo did, government policy on race relations with which he disagrees. We need not decide whether the Echo is a state agency; it is enough to say that even if it were, it would not be prohibited from expressing its hostility to racial integration. The Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act proscribe state action that denies the equal protection of the laws, not state advocacy. To be sure, the line between action and advocacy may sometimes be difficult to draw, but it is clear that nothing written in the Echo crossed it.A college newspaper's freedom from censorship does not necessarily imply that its facilities are the editor's private domain. When a college paper receives a subsidy from the state, there are strong arguments for insisting that its columns be open to the expression of contrary views and that its publication enhance, not inhibit, free speech. Cf. Red Lion Broadcasting Co., Inc. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367, 390, 89 S.Ct. 1794, 23 L. Ed.2d 371 (1969). However, this case provides no occasion for formulating a principle akin to the fairness doctrine for the college press. The record does not disclose that Joyner rejected any articles that were opposed to his editorial policy, and President Whiting does not claim the paper refused to publish his pro-integration plea.The president, emphasizing that the students are still free to publish and circulate a newspaper on the campus without university support, protests that the denial of financial support cannot be considered censorship because it is permanent. Permanency, he suggests, does not link the ebb and flow of funds with disapproval or approval of editorial policy. Absent this correlation, he claims, there is no censorship. But this argument overlooks the fact that one of the reasons for the president's withdrawal of funds was his displeasure with the paper's editorial policy. The abridgement of freedom of the press is nonetheless real because it is permanent. Freedom of the press cannot be preserved, as Mr. Justice Frankfurter noted, by prohibitions calculated "to burn the house to roast the pig." Butler v. Michigan, 352 U.S. 380, 383, 77 S.Ct. 524, 526, 1 L.Ed. 2d 412 (1957). The president has failed to carry the "heavy burden of showing justification for the imposition of" a prior restraint on expression. Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe, 402 U.S. 415, 419, 91 S.Ct. 1575, 29 L.Ed.2d 1 (1971). He has proved only that he considers the paper's editorial comment to be abhorrent, contrary to the university's policy, and inconsistant with constitutional and statutory guarantees of equality. This is plainly insufficient. Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169, 187, 92 S. Ct. 2338, 33 L.Ed.2d 266 (1972); cf. Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 449, 89 S.Ct. 1827, 23 L.Ed.2d 430 (1969).Similarly, the district court's permanent injunction against the university's funding of the paper cannot stand. The court's grant of the injunction was intended to protect the student press by eliminating the inducement of future financial support "as a possible method for censorship." But the proper remedy against censorship is restraint of the censor, not suppression of the press. A court, no less than the executive and the legislature, must defer to the First Amendment. Twice in the history of the nation the Supreme Court has reviewed injunctions that imposed prior restraints on the publication of newspapers, and twice the Court has held the restraints to be unconstitutional. New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713, 91 S.Ct. 2140, 29 L.Ed.2d 822 (1971); Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697, 51 S.Ct. 625, 75 L.Ed. 1357 (1931). In both instances the proof was insufficient to overcome the presumption of unconstitutionality under which prior restraint of expression labors. Because this case is marked by the same defect, the injunction must be dissolved.IIDISCRIMINATORY PRACTICESEarly in September of 1971, Joyner, who had been elected editor the previous spring, told the Echo's faculty advisor that the paper would be black-oriented and that neither whites nor foreigners would be allowed to serve as staff members. The first edition of the paper under Joyner's editorship, published later in the month, contained a notice that the paper would not carry advertising for white merchants.The president asserts that the Echo is an agency of the state, and that continued financial support of the paper despite its discriminatory practices would violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In contrast, the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina9 takes the position that the Echo is not an agency of the state, but it justifies the president's withholding of funds as a permissible means of enforcing a valid campus regulation proscribing racial discrimination.We need not choose between these theories. Under both of them, the president was justified in prohibiting racial discrimination in staffing the newspaper and accepting advertising. The equal protection clause forbids racial discrimination in extracurricular activities of a state-supported institution. United States v. Jefferson County Bd. of Educ., 372 F.2d 836, 899 (5th Cir. 1966), cert. denied,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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