Leonard Law
Encyclopedia
The Leonard Law is a California
law
passed in 1992 that applies the First Amendment
to the United States Constitution
to private
college
s and universities
. The law also applies Article I, Section 2 of the California Constitution
to private colleges and universities. California is the only state to grant First Amendment protections to students at private postsecondary institutions. Attempts at a federal
Leonard Law and for Leonard Laws in other states have not succeeded.
State Senator
Bill Leonard
wrote the law to require private colleges and universities to protect their students' rights to freedom of speech
"and other communication
" that the government
is required to protect for all of its citizens. Under the terms of the law, students may file civil
lawsuit
s to seek injunctive
and declaratory relief
against their institutions; students may also recover any attorney's fee
s related to the case.
student Robert J. Corry and eight other Stanford University
students filed the first lawsuit under the Leonard Law, claiming that Stanford's speech code
violated the law. On February 27, 1995, Santa Clara County
Superior Court
Judge Peter G. Stone issued the ruling in Corry v. Stanford
that struck down the speech code as a violation of the Leonard Law.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
passed in 1992 that applies the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
to the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
to private
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
s and universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
. The law also applies Article I, Section 2 of the California Constitution
California Constitution
The document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which...
to private colleges and universities. California is the only state to grant First Amendment protections to students at private postsecondary institutions. Attempts at a federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
Leonard Law and for Leonard Laws in other states have not succeeded.
About
RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
State Senator
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
Bill Leonard
Bill Leonard
William R. Leonard is a Republican U.S. politician who served as a member of the California State Board of Equalization from 2002 until his resignation in March 2010.-Life and career:After earning his B.A...
wrote the law to require private colleges and universities to protect their students' rights to freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
"and other communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
" that the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
is required to protect for all of its citizens. Under the terms of the law, students may file civil
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s to seek injunctive
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
and declaratory relief
Declaratory relief
Declaratory relief is a judge's determination of the parties' rights under a contract or a statute, often requested in a lawsuit over a contract. In theory, an early resolution of legal rights will resolve some or all of the other issues in the matter....
against their institutions; students may also recover any attorney's fee
Attorney's fee
Attorney's fee is a chiefly United States term for compensation for legal services performed by an attorney for a client, in or out of court. It may be an hourly, flat-rate or contingent fee. Attorney fees are separate from fines, compensatory and punitive damages, and from court costs in a...
s related to the case.
Lawsuits
On May 2, 1994, Stanford Law SchoolStanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
student Robert J. Corry and eight other Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
students filed the first lawsuit under the Leonard Law, claiming that Stanford's speech code
Speech code
A speech code is any rule or regulation that limits, restricts, or bans speech beyond the strict legal limitations upon freedom of speech or press found in the legal definitions of harassment, slander, libel, and fighting words. Such codes are common in the workplace, in universities, and in...
violated the law. On February 27, 1995, Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
Superior Court
Superior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
Judge Peter G. Stone issued the ruling in Corry v. Stanford
Corry v. Stanford
Robert J. Corry, et al. v. The Leland Stanford Junior University, et al., No. 740309 , was a case in which the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California ruled that Stanford University's speech code violated the freedom of speech rights of its students guaranteed under California's Leonard...
that struck down the speech code as a violation of the Leonard Law.