In December of 2023, the ACLU of Tennessee joined the Vanderbilt Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic in filing an Amicus Brief in support of Ms. Diei’s appeal. The brief emphasizes the importance of defending the freedom of expression on college campuses.
Ms. Diei was a graduate student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) when she was expelled due to her social media posts. The University’s Professional Conduct Committee determined that Ms. Diei’s posts violated a professional standard requiring “all students enrolled at the UTHSC [to] maintain the high ethical and professional standards of the various disciplines of the health professions.”
Ms. Diei posted on social media outside of the classroom using her own personal devices. In the posts at issue, she did not talk about her profession or related schoolwork. Instead, she kept her social media presence separate from her profession by using a pseudonym. Despite her attempts to separate her professional and personal lives, Ms. Diei was anonymously reported to the University for posting “sexual” and “vulgar” content.
In February 2021, Ms. Diei, represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), sued UTHSC for infringing on her right to freedom of expression. In August of 2023, the district court granted the Defendant’s motion to dismiss. A few weeks later, Ms. Diei appealed the district court’s order to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
PLAINTIFF(S):
Kimberly Diei
DEFENDANT(S):
President of the University of Tennessee, Randy Boyd;
Chair of the University of Tennessee’s Health Science Center College of Pharmacy’s Professional Conduct Committee, Christa George;
Board of Trustees of the University of Tennessee: Brad Box, John Compton, Charles Hatcher, Decosta Jenkins, Karla Lawson, Amy Miles, William Rhodes III, Donnie Smith, Kim White, Alan Wilson, and Jamie Woodson
ATTORNEY(S):
Vanderbilt Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic: Jennifer Safstrom
