Judge drops student’s free speech lawsuit

A University of New Mexico student who was kicked out of class for objecting to a lesbian-themed film has lost her court case.

 

Monica Pompeo filed suit, claiming her First Amendment rights were violated when she was punished for an essay that called homosexuality “perverse” among other observations.

 

The lawsuit, filed in 2013, was dismissed by federal judge Christina Armijo shortly before Christmas last year.

 

Armijo originally denied the university’s request to dismiss the case but changed her mind and sided with the university and the professor, Caroline Hinkley.

 

Linda Harvey of Mission America says there’s a “great possibility” that someone got to Judge Armijo and persuaded her to change the ruling.

 

The judge’s second ruling states that she “erred” in her first decision because she had not read the student’s paper or the professor’s responses at the time, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

 

Further review of the case showed Pompeo was given repeated opportunities to rewrite the film critique paper. The professor told the student the analytical paper required Pompeo to substantiate her claims, not just give opinions.

 

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