The suit was brought by the Oklahoma State Department of Education in an attempt to silence FFRF’s advocacy
OKLAHOMA CITY – In a win for freedom of speech, a suit filed against the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) was dismissed by a federal judge this week. The suit, filed by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), sought to punish FFRF for sending advocacy letters to the department objecting to religious activity in public schools. FFRF filed a motion to dismiss in May, arguing that the suit was a frivolous attempt to silence their protected speech.
“As we enter a new school year, this judgement reaffirms our right to speak out against school policies and advocate for change,” said Megan Lambert, legal director at the ACLU of Oklahoma. “The right to dissent is now more important than ever, and we remain committed to ensuring that people can continue to advocate for better governance and equity in Oklahoma public schools. The Oklahoma State Department of Education is without the power to silence dissent.”
In the decision, the judge agreed that no harm had come to OSDE because of the letters, asking, “In what way are Plaintiffs precluded from administering Oklahoma’s public schools because of Defendant’s letters?” The case was dismissed without prejudice.
“This decision affirms a fundamental freedom: the right to petition the government for change,” said Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “The government has no business suing advocacy organizations for exercising their First Amendment rights, and we are grateful that the court recognized that government actors responding to the public doesn’t qualify as an injury.”
“We are pleased that this frivolous lawsuit by Walters was promptly dismissed,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “FFRF will continue to work to protect the constitutional rights of students and families in Oklahoma.”
FFRF is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Oklahoma. They argued that the lawsuit is a “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation” (SLAPP), an abusive legal tactic that seeks to chill expression by saddling defendants with potentially lengthy and expensive litigation in retaliation for protected speech. The motion to dismiss was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in May.
