Howard Alumni Revive Suit Over Exclusion From Trustee Positions

A group of Howard University alumni persuaded a federal appeals court on Friday to revive their suit challenging the removal of trustee positions for alumni, students, and faculty.

The federal district court that tossed the alumni’s lawsuit didn’t have jurisdiction over the case, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said.

Howard’s federal charter alone doesn’t give the federal courts jurisdiction, Judge Robert L. Wilkins said.

The graduates argued the board’s removal of positions for alumni, students, and faculty was a violation of the school’s bylaws.

“And so it is the bylaws—not the charter—that form ...