According to this story by Maggie Shepard in the Albuquerque Journal, a University of New Mexico student, Monica Pompeo, will ask the Tenth Circuit to reverse the dismissal of her lawsuit alleging that UNM violated her First Amendment rights by penalizing her for criticizing lesbianism in a classroom essay.
The story says that Judge M. Christina Armijo originally denied UNM’s motion to dismiss the case, but ultimately dismissed it in September because “further investigation into the case showed Pompeo’s professors offered her numerous opportunities to rewrite her essay to adhere to acedemic standards or to take alternative routes to achieve her class grade.”
Although the story describes this as a dismissal, it sounds more like a summary judgment ruling to me.
The report also notes that the case was disposed of by the district court in September, and that the “next hearing in the case is set for January.” However, I do not see this case listed on the oral argument schedule for the Tenth Circuit’s January session.
