ABA Vote Requires Law Schools to Prohibit Disruptive Protests

The American Bar Association’s policy-making body has passed a measure requiring law schools to adopt written “academic freedom” policies that protect speech, including for those who express unpopular or controversial ideas.

The resolution, which mandates that the school policies prohibit disruptive conduct that “substantially” interferes with law school functions, came in the wake of protests against conservative speakers at Stanford and Yale law schools. The protest at Stanford prompted the university to apologize to federal appeals court judge Kyle Duncan.

The measure passed by voice vote of the ABA House of Delegates Monday during the ABA’s midyear meeting in Louisville. Only a few dissenting Nos could be heard on an ABA meeting video after a large number of Ayes.

The ABA’s jurisdiction in mandating school policies is murky, but the association houses the accrediting body for law schools. The ABA already sets guidelines for law schools in other areas such as curriculum and student evaluations, the association’s president Mary Smith, told Bloomberg Law.

The resolution seeks to ensure freedom of expression for the law school academic community, said council representative to the House of Delegates Antonio Garcia-Padilla, a professor with the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, before the vote.

New Standard

The new standard is more “direct and comprehensive” than the current iteration, Padilla said, while it allows schools to maintain a culture of “robust” debate.

“Concerns about civility and mutual respect do not justify barring the discussion of ideas because they might be controversial or even offensive or disagreeable to some.”

Under the new policy, law schools may restrict expression that violates the law, falsely defames specific individuals, or constitutes “a genuine threat or harassment.”

The ABA policy comes in the wake of student protests at the Yale and Stanford law schools during events that featured conservative speakers.

The demonstrators made it difficult for Duncan to address Stanford students in April 2023, and for Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group, from speaking at Yale in March 2022.

In its apology to Duncan, Stanford said the ruckus was “inconsistent” with the school’s free speech policies.