I am NOT a big fan of the whole “law school prestige” crap game. C.F. What is wrong with Legal Education? If I am in a position to hire an attorney, the first thing I will do before circulating their resume will be to run a sharpie over their alma mater — unless that alma mater is Regent, Ave Maria, or Liberty University. These are not law schools, these are brainwashing indoctrination centers.
Case in point — Regent student gets flak for Robertson photo on Web site.
Regent University officials have threatened to discipline a law student for posting on his Facebook page an unflattering photo of Regent President Pat Robertson.
The student, Adam M. Key, defended his action as constitutionally protected free speech in a 14-page legal brief he presented to the dean of the law school.
Regent officials gave Key two choices: publicly apologize for posting the picture and refrain from commenting about the matter in a “public medium,” or write a brief defending the posting. He faces punishment that could include expulsion.
Key, a second-year law student, said he refused to apologize and “be muzzled” by the university, so he composed the document, which includes citations from noted First Amendment cases.
The picture, posted on Key’s Facebook social-networking Web page, shows Robertson making what appears to be an obscene hand gesture. Key copied it from a YouTube video in which Robertson scratches his face with the middle finger of his right hand. The video is edited to freeze the frame in that position for several seconds. The YouTube version has had more than 2,300 page views.
Key said that Jeffrey Brauch, dean of the law school, rejected his brief and that he now awaits disciplinary action under the university’s Standard of Personal Conduct. At one point during the controversy, Key said, he was escorted by three armed security guards from the university’s public relations office. (source)
Unfortunately, I don’t think that Mr. Key’s First Amendment arguments will be all that compelling. Regent is a private institution, and if it wants to say “you must respect Pat Robertson’s authoritah,” then by golly, it can do so. That doesn’t mean that I think it is a good idea, and its reaction to Mr. Key’s harmless facebook photo simply underscores the fact that Regent is not a place of learning — it is the American equivalent of a radical madrassah.
I respect Mr. Key’s position, and I especially respect his perspective on free speech. Nevertheless, a fan of free speech is not exactly a good fit for Regent University.
