University of Iowa officials’ immunity from liability on chopping block at Eighth Circuit Court to decide if officials accountable for discriminatory purge of religious student groups

WASHINGTON – The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the latest challenge supporting free speech on university campuses in an appeal asking whether University officials can be held personally responsible for religious discrimination. A federal court found that University of Iowa officials were liable for booting InterVarsity Christian Fellowship off campus for asking its leaders to affirm the group’s beliefs. The University also deregistered numerous other religious groups, including Sikh, Muslim, and other Christian organizations, for requiring their leaders to agree with their missions,  yet it allowed groups such as fraternities, sororities, sports teams, and political groups, to retain their standards for membership and leadership. InterVarsity, with the help of Becket, is arguing this case before the Eighth Circuit after the University appealed InterVarsity’s lower court victory.  

What:
Oral Argument in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship v. University of Iowa 

Who: 
Daniel Blomberg, senior counsel at Becket   

When:
January 13, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. EST 

Where:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Via teleconference
Dial-in: 1-888-363-4749
Access code: 5800357  

Daniel Blomberg will be available for comment immediately following the hearing. 

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Ryan Colby at media@becketlaw.org or 202-349-7224. Interviews can be arranged in English, Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.