First Amendment

They say Warren’s suspension “runs counter to professional standards of conduct, usurps the will and power of the electorate and eviscerates the carefully crafted separation of powers erected in the Florida Constitution.”

It cited legal precedents, including U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of a high school football coach who lost his job after praying on the field after games.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the law, which DeSantis calls the "Stop WOKE Act," violates the First Amendment and are seeking a preliminary injunction to block its enforcement.

It puts restrictions on how race and sexism can be addressed in public school classrooms and workplaces. The businesses say it violates their free speech rights.

It follows a ruling last year that the law violated the First Amendment.

The board was considering changing the amount of speaker time or the deadline for public comment, but neither made it into the final policy.

The federal judge said the university had blatantly violated the Constitution and described the university’s legal defenses as “shocking.”

He addressed the UF lawyer's claim of "newly discovered facts" that showed the professors had already begun working on the elections case before their requests to serve as witnesses were rejected.

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker held a fiery hearing Friday on the plaintiffs’ request to block the university from enforcing a policy that drew national attention after three political science professors were blocked from testifying in an elections law case.

While Gov. Ron DeSantis said he plans to prioritize elderly and at-risk residents when it comes to COVID-19 tests, his administration acknowledged this week that nearly a million other at-home test kits have expired.

In the lawsuit, the professors claimed university officials told them that going against the executive branch of the government was “adverse” to the school’s interests.

The lawsuit comes despite the university reversing course and allowing the professors to testify as experts in a case challenging a new elections law.