University of Florida bars professors from being expert witnesses against the
The University of Florida told the professors “that they were not authorized to serve as experts on behalf of Plaintiffs in this matter as part of their ‘outside activities,'” according to court documents filed Friday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division.
The case challenges parts of Florida’s Senate Bill 90, which an attorney for the plaintiffs says “imposes substantial and unjustifiable restrictions on the ability of eligible Floridians to vote and register to vote.”
“The University told Dr. Smith that ‘outside activities that may pose a conflict of interest to the executive branch of the State of Florida create a conflict for the University of Florida,’ and provided similar explanations for Dr. McDonald … and Dr. Austin,” the court document says.
“We will not back down from this attack on our academic freedoms to speak out on our own time, on matters of great public importance,” McDonald told CNN in a statement.
CNN also contacted Austin and Smith, but did not immediately hear back.
“The Governor’s Office’s assertion that the University of Florida’s decisions relating to the participation of its employees in this litigation implicates the ‘legislative privilege’ is nonsensical,” the motion said.
In a statement provided to CNN, a University of Florida spokesperson said the university “has a long track record of supporting free speech and our faculty’s academic freedom, and we will continue to do so.”
“It is important to note that the university did not deny the First Amendment rights or academic freedom of professors Dan Smith, Michael McDonald and Sharon Austin. Rather, the university denied requests of these full-time employees to undertake outside paid work that is adverse to the university’s interests as a state of Florida institution,” spokesperson Hessy Fernandez said.
CNN contacted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office for comment but did not hear back.
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