V is for Victory, Vindication, and Valdosta

There was some uplifting news from Georgia today: T. Hayden Barnes has emerged victorious over Valdosta State concerning his unlawful expulsion by former-president, Ronald Zaccari.

As FIRE writes, the importance of the case demonstrates that "no president is above the law." To be sure, the major victory of this case, even beyond the return of Mr. Barnes lost rights of speech and due process, is the black eye against abuse of sovereign immunity by administrators and public officials in these cases. Judge Parnell ruled that Zaccari is "personally liable" for his actions. People like Mike Nifong, John Fallon, Rod BLAHgo, and Charles Steger can longer hide behind their roles as "good-intending" public stooges, but without the public accountability checks in place. The case can only further the backlash of government institutional abuse in a season and time where public loathing of government waste, corruption, and insularity is at an all-time peak.

Others have also weighed in with some observations which we believe are vital to the fight to combat the erosion of students rights across the nation.

The Student Press Law Center in particular states that the case highlights the promising trend of student handbooks and codes acting as legally-binding documents for schools that violate student rights; not only in public schools but private (emphasis added) as well:

"That finding adds to a growing body of law that makes clear
promises made by schools in handbooks, school charters, “Student Rights and
Responsibility” documents and other university statements can provide students
with legal protections that extend beyond those provided by more traditional
law. While most cases have so far involved promises made to students about the
fairness of campus disciplinary systems, the Student Press Law Center has long
argued that schools should also be held legally accountable for violating their
own student media policies and other provisions promising to protect student
speech."

An example of the crucial ramifications of this decision, we imagine this cannot make Brodhead and his ilk in the faculty and Duke echelons resting easy, since part of the Duke's rather pithy defense of its blatant violation of its own students rights rests on the out-right nullification of the Duke's faculty, student handbooks.

Posted by Hound No. 8
The Hounds of TASSers'ville