How a Recent Supreme Court Decision Derailed a Native Student Journalist’s Free-Speech Lawsuit

A June 8 Supreme Court decision involving First Amendment rights has trickled down to stymie a Native student newspaper editor’s lawsuit against the ousted president of Haskell Indian Nations University.

The ruling in Egbert v. Boule declined to allow for damages claims against federal officials for retaliation under the First Amendment, Katlyn Patton, a staff attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), told Native News Online. 

“At this stage, Congress would need to act to create that remedy,” Patton said.

The case impacts issues of damage claims when a federal official violates someones rights.

Haskell, located in Lawrence, Kansas, has about 1,000 students, all of whom are members of federally recognized tribes, and is operated by the federal government. Ronald Graham, then-president of the university, was a federal employee, Patton said. Five days after the Supreme Court’s Egbert v. Boule decision, former student newspaper editor Jared Nally’s appeal demanding money damages from Graham was withdrawn in response to the decision. 

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