Sacramento student body president back on the job after ADF letter to college officials
College agrees that recall election violated state law, but student government seeking to impeach him anywayFriday, November 13, 2009
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento City College’s Associated Student Government agreed Thursday to vacate its “suspension” of the student body president after he was subjected to an illegal recall election for refusing to censor a pro-life group’s display on campus. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom representing Steve Macias issued a cease-and-desist letter to college officials on Nov. 5.
Unsatisfied, some ASG members have begun impeachment proceedings against Macias in the wake of the failed recall.
“Respecting people’s First Amendment rights is worthy of praise, not punishment,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel David Hacker. “The recall election against Steve was wrongly motivated and flawed. The entire process against him began because he stood up for the free speech rights of a pro-life group. In their haste to punish him for that stand, ASG members did not follow the law. Though we are pleased that they recognize this problem and reinstated Steve as president, we are disappointed with the ongoing and apparently relentless attempt to punish him by seeking to impeach him from office.”
Macias informed ADF attorneys that he refused to censor a pro-life group’s display on the grounds that ASG had already approved the group to participate in the school’s Constitution Day and that censoring them would violate the group’s First Amendment rights. ASG then subjected him to a recall election.
An attorney for the school has informed ADF attorneys that Macias will retain his office and that the recall election results are void because the election was not conducted in a manner consistent with state law. However, on Nov. 2, the ASG Judicial Branch reportedly received an application form to impeach Macias because the election had failed to remove him from office.
“We believe this is a baseless and discriminatory attempt to silence the voice of the opposition through whatever means possible. ADF will continue to monitor Steve’s situation,” Hacker said.
- Web site of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom, which defends religious freedom at America’s public universities.
LEGAL DOCS
ADF cease-and-desist letter to Sacramento City College
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ABOUT David Hacker
David J. Hacker serves as legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Sacramento, California Regional Service Center, where he litigates cases to uphold the constitutionally protected rights of Christian students, faculty, and staff at public schools and universities across the nation. He joined ADF in 2005 and is admitted to the bar in Illinois and California, as well as the United States Supreme Court and multiple federal courts. Hacker has practiced law since 2004 and earned his J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He also served as an ADF Blackstone Legal Fellowship intern at the Pacific Justice Institute and is a 2002 ADF Blackstone Fellow. Before joining ADF, he practiced in a private Chicago firm.