Hoggard v. Rhodes

A student said Arkansas State University officials violated her First Amendment rights by making her move a table from an area reserved for registered student groups. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, leaving in place the lower-court result that the university officials were entitled to qualified immunity, and it did not decide the merits itself.

The outcome means those high-level university officials were not personally liable for money damages in this case. For example, a student challenging a campus speech restriction may still face a high bar when trying to sue senior administrators personally.

The Supreme Court has finished this docket action. The Eighth Circuit result remains in place for this case, and the justices did not settle the broader First Amendment question.

It was about whether senior Arkansas State University officials could be sued personally after a student was told to move her table. The student argued her First Amendment rights were violated.

Students challenging campus speech limits and public university administrators are most directly affected. In this case, the officials kept qualified immunity from personal damages liability.

Nothing more is scheduled at the Supreme Court in this docket. The Court declined review, so the lower-court result stays in place without a merits decision from the justices.