Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California
What is the statute of limitations on free speech violations lawsuits?
Ever since this incident occurred I have been wanting to seek legal redress but I didn't know how. Basically I was dismissed from a class on what I feel was violation of my freedom of speech rights because I used the word "slavery" in an opinionated remark. this was used in debate dialogue which sprang from an open question & answer session. Here's the very bare basics of the scenario and the violation that occurred. The instructor opened a question & answer session. From my question the instructor took the course of initiating a debate with me and then after I opinionated with using that term he consoled with another staff member and asked me to leave saying that I said something "offensive" TO the class in using that word. I DISAGREED with him BUT OFFERED AN APOLOGY TO THE CLASS. But the
instructor still insisted that I had been offensive in my speech and that I leave. I felt stifled, censored and that my freedom of speech was violated. I left.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Where were you taking the class? The First Amendment applies only to the government, not to private entities. This means that public schools, colleges and universities are bound by it while private ones are not.
Even if you were at a public college when this happened, your First Amendment rights are limited while you are a student in a classroom. Without more details, I can't say whether your remarks were protected or not.
Note that, before you can sue a public entity, you must first present an administrative claim. These claims have deadlines that are often much shorter than the limitations period for civil suits against private defendants for similar conduct. I would need more facts before I could say what your time limit would be.
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