WHO: ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Heather Gebelin Hacker

WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral arguments in ASU Students for Life v. Crow

WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 20, following oral arguments which begin at 10 a.m. MST (PDT)

WHERE: University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law, Ares Auditorium, Room 164

TUCSON, Ariz. — Alliance Defense Fund Litigation Staff Counsel Heather Gebelin Hacker will be available for media interviews following oral arguments Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in a case involving the free speech rights of pro-life students at Arizona State University.  On July 24, 2006, ADF filed suit in federal court on behalf of the student organization ASU Students for Life.

“Pro-life student groups shouldn’t have a price tag placed upon expression of their beliefs,” said Hacker. “It is unconstitutional to require any student group to ‘purchase’ their First Amendment right to free speech by requiring them to buy an insurance policy.”

In December 2005, members of ASU Students for Life submitted a request to display an exhibit on campus. The exhibit, designed by the non-profit organization Justice for All, displayed different aspects of the pro-life viewpoint. After ASU Students for Life attempted to reserve several speech zones in which to display the exhibit, ASU administration officials told the group that it would be restricted to just one zone, relenting only after receiving correspondence from ADF attorneys.

University officials insisted that the club obtain insurance in order to display the exhibit despite the lack of a written policy. For a subsequent event in April 2006, ASU Students for Life was again required to obtain insurance even though this event only involved sitting at a table on campus and passing out literature. ADF attorneys filed the lawsuit ASU Students for Life v. Crow three months later and then appealed to the 9th Circuit in April 2008 after a district court judge ruled against the club.

The panel hearing the case Tuesday includes Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, Circuit Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta, and retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.