Paul L. Caron
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Saturday, December 9, 2023

Tenured Law Professor Appeals Dismissal Of Civil Rights Lawsuit Over Suspension Following Use Of Redacted Slurs On Exam

Following up on my previous posts (links below):  ABA Journal, UIC Law Prof Appeals After Dismissal of Civil Rights Lawsuit:

KilbornA professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law has filed an appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago after his case stemming from his use of abbreviated racial and gender slurs in an essay question in a December 2020 final exam was dismissed.

Professor Jason J. Kilborn’s 2022 complaint alleged violations of the First Amendment, the 14th Amendments and state laws. The complaint and the appeal name university administrators, including Julie Spanbauer, the former law school dean, as defendants.

“Because Kilborn has again failed to sufficiently plead that his speech involved matters of public concern, the court dismisses his First Amendment retaliation claim,” wrote U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis of the Northern District of Illinois in the Nov. 1 opinion. “Additionally, the court dismisses Kilborn’s 14th Amendment due process claims because they fail to state a cognizable claim. Without any viable federal claims remaining, the court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over his state law claims and dismisses those claims without prejudice.”

The ruling last month follows a Feb. 15 dismissal of one claim. Ellis then stated that Kilborn’s conduct did not involve a matter of public concern that would have triggered First Amendment protection for retaliation. ...

Andrew Koppelman, a professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, wrote that the complaints were “foolish persecution” in a November 2021 article for the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Brian Leiter, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, wrote that the question on the “exam hypothetical was clearly proper” on his blog, Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports, in January 2021.

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2023/12/tenured-law-professor-suspension-use-of-redacted-slurs-on-exam.html

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