CA Bar Cracks Down on Protestors As LawProf Advocated

WASHINGTON - Dec. 6, 2024 - PRLog -- Bar authorities in California will consider applicants' participation in campus protests during the moral character process, and may deny admission to students if their actions went beyond what is protected speech or expression.

The decision comes after a public interest law professor known for his successful defenses of free speech announced that he would file bar complaints against students whose protests went beyond the bounds of protected speech.

This Law Professor Took on Nixon and Trump. Now He's Facing Off Against Stanford Law School Students (https://freebeacon.com/campus/this-law-professor-took-on-nixon-and-trump-now-hes-facing-off-against-stanford-law-school-students/)

"John Banzhaf says he plans to file a bar complaint against the students who disrupted Fifth Circuit judge Kyle Duncan. Banzhaf told Stanford earlier this month that he will file a character and fitness complaint against the students with the California state bar.

'It appears that you have not taken any steps to discipline or otherwise sanction the student violators,' Banzhaf said in a letter to Jenny Martinez, the law school's dean, who has since ruled out punishing the hecklers. As such, the complaint 'will have links to video recordings of the disruption so that bar officials can judge the students' conduct for themselves.'

The California bar requires applicants to demonstrate 'respect for the rights of others and for the judicial process.' That means the students who disrupted Duncan—in part by telling him 'we hope your daughters get raped' —could be in for a rude awakening if Banzhaf makes good on his threat.

This incident 'seriously calls into question whether these students have proper temperament to practice law, Banzhaf told the Washington Free Beacon. 'It is completely unacceptable to shout down any speaker—much less a federal judge—and then face no consequences.'

Banzhaf says, the complaints needn't derail anyone's career in order to be effective: Even the threat of an investigation—or a delayed and stressful bar application—could deter would-be disruptors, sending the message that actions have consequences."

Banzhaf warns that students who participate in protests which violate campus rules or the law should know that their ability to be admitted to the Bar might be endangered.

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf