All articles tagged with #eleventh circuit
A federal appeals court (11th Circuit) ruled that Florida's Stop Woke Act’s higher-education provisions—restricting what professors can teach about race and gender—violate the First Amendment, upholding an injunction and marking a setback for the governor's campus-ideology agenda.
A federal appeals court (11th Circuit) ruled 2-1 that parts of Florida's Stop WOKE Act unlawfully chill academic speech by restricting what public university professors can discuss about race, gender and bias, upholding an injunction against enforcement and signaling First Amendment limits on the law’s reach in higher education. The decision follows years of controversy over DEI and anti-woke legislation; Florida may seek full-court rehearing or Supreme Court review. The ACLU praised the ruling as a win for academic freedom.
US District Judge Eleanor Ross of the Northern District of Georgia received a private reprimand from the Eleventh Circuit after a two-year sexual relationship with an Atlanta Police Department deputy chief conducted in chambers during business hours, creating a hostile work environment for clerks and presenting a potential conflict of interest. The panel called the conduct a gross lack of judgment and noted risk of extortion given the judge’s spouse was unaware. Ross agreed to apology letters and to refrain from leadership roles, but critics say the punishment was too lenient because it remained confidential and did not address potential conflicts in her courtroom. Ross is notable as the first Black woman to serve as a judge in that district and has presided over high-profile cases, including the Chrisley fraud case.