Denton v. Thrasher
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Description: Florida State University administrators and student senate officials repeatedly failed to address unconstitutional retaliation against student Jack Denton, the president of the FSU Student Senate, for sharing his personal religious beliefs in private text conversations with other students. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys sent a letter and then filed a lawsuit after the school failed to address the unconstitutional violation of Denton’s First Amendment freedoms.
FSU reinstates Student Senate president, acknowledges First Amendment violations
“We commend the FSU Supreme Court for acting swiftly and decisively to reinstate Jack to his position as FSU’s Student Senate president while his federal lawsuit continues and for acknowledging the violations of his constitutionally protected right to free speech. All students should be able to peacefully share their personal convictions without fear of retaliation. As the FSU Supreme Court concluded, the senators ‘during debate reveal that they were neither tolerant nor respectful’ of Jack’s religious beliefs. Further, the court reasoned, failure to reinstate Jack to his leadership position ‘would only deter participation’ in the university’s student government.”
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ABOUT Tyson Langhofer
Tyson C. Langhofer serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom and director of its Center for Academic Freedom. Before joining ADF, Langhofer was a partner with Stinson Leonard Street LLP, where he worked as a commercial litigation attorney for 15 years and earned Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent® rating. Langhofer earned his Juris Doctor from Regent University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude in 1999. He obtained a B.A. in international business with a minor in economics from Wichita State University in 1996. A member of the bar in Kansas and Arizona, Langhofer is also admitted to practice in numerous federal district courts.