Good news for free speech enthusiasts. And that should be everyone in this nation, especially those living in Florida. And that goes for everyone who supports Governor Ron DeSantis and dumbass legislation like the “Stop WOKE Act.” Whether you like it or not, the First Amendment protects speech you disagree with, not just the stuff you like. And with part of the law permanently enjoined, perhaps your state will spend a little less of your money defending obviously unconstitutional laws.
Here’s more on the subject from David Harris of Law & Crime:
Judge Mark Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued a permanent injunction, saying the law that bans diversity training in private workplaces “violates free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.” The ruling follows a three-judge appeals court panel’s March decision that upheld Walker’s original injunction. The State of Florida did not oppose the motion to make the ruling permanent.
The order [PDF] putting the permanent injunction in place only runs two pages. Since the motion was unopposed, no further arguments were heard. At least this indicates the state can be taught, having lost twice in a row in its attempt to insert itself into conversations between private businesses and their employees.
The Eleventh Circuit Appeals Court had this to say about the law when it upheld the lower court’s decision in this lawsuit:
The State of Florida seeks to bar employers from holding mandatory meetings for their employees if those meetings endorse viewpoints the state finds offensive. But meetings on those same topics are allowed if speakers endorse viewpoints the state agrees with, or at least does not object to. This law, as Florida concedes, draws its distinctions based on viewpoint—the most pernicious of dividing lines under the First Amendment.
Apparently, the state realized it had no chance to impose its will on private businesses to control what topics they’re permitted to talk about. This followed a string of losses in the lower court — both in this lawsuit, which concerns private businesses and a similar constitutional challenge against the law’s application to public universities.
The lower court doesn’t like that lawsuit either and has already issued an injunction. That one is still being appealed by the state. Even though that lawsuit deals with a bit more gray-ish area of First Amendment law (the government placing speech restrictions on government employees), it seems likely this too will meet a similar fate when the Eleventh Circuit Appeals Court reviews it.
After all, the restrictions imposed here are similar to those targeting private companies. It’s going to take some very creative arguing to get around the point made by the district court in this devastating summary of that part of the law:
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen,” and the powers in charge of Florida’s public university system have declared the State has unfettered authority to muzzle its professors in the name of “freedom.” To confront certain viewpoints that offend the powers that be, the State of Florida passed the so-called “Stop W.O.K.E.” Act in 2022—redubbed (in line with the State’s doublespeak) the “Individual Freedom Act.” The law officially bans professors from expressing disfavored viewpoints in university classrooms while permitting unfettered expression of the opposite viewpoints.
The good news is the law is 50% dead. Hopefully, the Stop WOKE Act will be completely buried in the near future.
