8th Circuit affirms right to seek justice without fear of crushing attorney's fees awards

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann regarding a decision Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in Henderson v. School District of Springfield R-12, a case involving two employees of Springfield Public Schools in Missouri who were sanctioned more than $300,000 by a federal court after they sued their employer over mandatory diversity and inclusion training that they claim violated their constitutionally protected freedoms:

“Americans should know that they have the freedom to file civil rights’ litigation to vindicate their constitutional rights without fear of reprisal. No American should face crushing attorney’s fees awards for merely attempting to hold government officials accountable. The risk of bearing those fees will discourage victims from seeking justice—justice they would not have had to seek had the government not violated their rights. The 8th Circuit’s decision protects every American’s right to pursue legal action to vindicate their fundamental freedoms.”

In May 2023, ADF attorneys joined Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies, Reason Foundation, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri to file a friend-of-the-court brief urging the 8th Circuit to preserve the goal of civil rights legislation encouraging injured Americans to remedy rights violations in federal court.

The ADF Center for Academic Freedom is dedicated to protecting First Amendment and related freedoms for students and faculty so that everyone can freely participate in the marketplace of ideas without fear of government censorship.

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