Meriwether v. Hartop

992 F.3d 492

Nicholas K. MERIWETHER, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.Francesca HARTOP, Joseph Watson, Scott Williams, David Furbee, Sondra Hash, Robert Howarth, George White, and Wallace Edwards, Trustees of Shawnee State University, in their official capacities; Jeffrey A. Bauer, Roberta Milliken, Jennifer Pauley, Tena Pierce, Douglas Shoemaker, and Malonda Johnson, in their official capacities, Defendants-Appellees,Jane Doe; Sexuality and Gender Acceptance, Intervenors-Appellees.

No. 20-3289

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: November 19, 2020

Decided and Filed: March 26, 2021

ARGUED: John J. Bursch, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Paul R. Kerridge, KEATING MUETHING & KLEKAMP PLL, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Shawnee State Appellees. Adam G. Unikowsky, JENNER & BLOCK LLP, Washington, D.C., for Intervenor Appellees. ON BRIEF: John J. Bursch, Kristen K. Waggoner, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Washington, D.C., David A. Cortman, Travis C. Barham, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Lawrenceville, Georgia, Thomas W. Kidd, Jr., KIDD & URLING, LLC, West Chester, Ohio, Tyson C. Langhofer, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Ashburn, Virginia, for Appellant. Paul R. Kerridge, KEATING MUETHING & KLEKAMP PLL, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Shawnee State Appellees. Adam G. Unikowsky, JENNER & BLOCK LLP, Washington, D.C., Jennifer L. Branch, GERHARDSTEIN & BRANCH CO. LPA, Cincinnati, Ohio, Shannon P. Minter, Asaf Orr, Christopher F. Stoll, NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS, San Francisco, California, for Intervenor Appellees. Deborah A. Ausburn, TAYLOR ENGLISH DUMA LLP, Atlanta, Georgia, Christopher L. Thacker, BILLINGS LAW FIRM, PLLC, Lexington, Kentucky, Gary S. McCaleb, Flagstaff, Arizona, Matthew J. Burkhart, GALLAGHER KAVINSKY & BURKHART LPA, Columbus, Ohio, Jennifer C. Chavez, Washington, D.C., Randall L. Wenger, INDEPENDENCE LAW CENTER, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Gerard V. Bradley, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, Notre Dame, Indiana, for Amici Curiae.

Before: McKEAGUE, THAPAR, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges.

THAPAR, Circuit Judge.

Traditionally, American universities have been beacons of intellectual diversity and academic freedom. They have prided themselves on being forums where controversial ideas are discussed and debated. And they have tried not to stifle debate by picking sides. But Shawnee State chose a different route: It punished a professor for his speech on a hotly contested issue. And it did so despite the constitutional protections afforded by the First Amendment. The district court dismissed the professor's free-speech and free-exercise claims. We see things differently and reverse.

I.

The district court decided this case on a motion to dismiss, so we construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. That means we must accept the complaint's factual allegations as true and draw all reasonable inferences in Meriwether's favor. Handy-Clay v. City of Memphis , 695 F.3d 531, 538 (6th Cir. 2012). Under this standard, we must reverse the district court's dismissal unless "it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Id. (quoting Guzman v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 679 F.3d 425, 429 (6th Cir. 2012) ).

A.

Nicholas Meriwether is a philosophy professor at Shawnee State University, a small public college in Portsmouth, Ohio. Shawnee State began awarding bachelor's degrees just thirty years ago. And for twenty-five of those years, Professor Meriwether has been a fixture at the school. He has served in the faculty senate, designed a bachelor's degree program in Philosophy and Religion, led study-abroad trips, and taught countless students in classes ranging from Ethics to the History of Christian Thought. Up until the incident that triggered this lawsuit, Meriwether had a spotless disciplinary record.

Professor Meriwether is also a devout Christian. He strives to live out his faith each day. And, like many people of faith, his religious convictions influence how he thinks about "human nature, marriage, gender, sexuality, morality, politics, and social issues." R. 34, Pg. ID 1469. Meriwether believes that "God created human beings as either male or female, that this sex is fixed in each person from the moment of conception, and that it cannot be changed, regardless of an individual's feelings or desires." Id. He also believes that he cannot "affirm as true ideas and concepts that are not true." Id. Being faithful to his religion was never a problem at Shawnee State. But in 2016, things changed.

At the start of the school year, Shawnee State emailed the faculty informing them that they had to refer to students by their "preferred pronoun[s]." Id. at 1471–72. Meriwether asked university officials for more details about the new pronoun policy, and the officials confirmed that professors would be disciplined if they "refused to use a pronoun that reflects a student's self-asserted gender identity." Id. at 1472. What if a professor had moral or religious objections? That didn't matter: The policy applied "regardless of the professor's convictions or views on the subject." Id.

When Meriwether asked to see the revised policy, university officials pointed him to the school's existing policy prohibiting discrimination "because of ... gender identity." R. 34-1, Pg. ID 1509. That policy applies to all of the university's "employees, students, visitors, agents and volunteers"; it applies at both academic and non-academic events; it applies on all university property (including classrooms, dorms, and athletic fields); and it sometimes applies off campus. R. 34-2, Pg. ID 1511–12.

Meriwether approached the chair of his department, Jennifer Pauley, to discuss his concerns about the newly announced rules. Pauley was derisive and scornful. Knowing that Meriwether had successfully taught courses on Christian thought for decades, she said that Christians are "primarily motivated out of fear" and should be "banned from teaching courses regarding that religion." R. 34, Pg. ID 1473. In her view, even the "presence of religion in higher education is counterproductive." Id.

Meriwether continued to teach students without incident until January 2018. On the first day of class, Meriwether was using the Socratic method to lead discussion in his course on Political Philosophy. When using that method, he addresses students as "Mr." or "Ms." He believes "this formal manner of addressing students helps them view the academic enterprise as a serious, weighty endeavor" and "foster[s] an atmosphere of seriousness and mutual respect." Id. at 1475. He "has found that addressing students in this fashion is an important pedagogical tool in all of his classes, but especially in Political Philosophy where he and [the] students discuss many of the most controversial issues of public concern." Id. In that first class, one of the students Meriwether called on was Doe. According to Meriwether, "no one ... would have assumed that [Doe] was female" based on Doe's outward appearances. Id. at 1474. Thus, Meriwether responded to a question from Doe by saying, "Yes, sir." Id. This was Meriwether's first time meeting Doe, and the university had not provided Meriwether with any information about Doe's sex or gender identity.

After class, Doe approached Meriwether and "demanded" that Meriwether "refer to [Doe] as a woman" and use "feminine titles and pronouns." Id. at 1475. This was the first time that Meriwether learned that Doe identified as a woman. So Meriwether paused before responding because his sincerely held religious beliefs prevented him from communicating messages about gender identity that he believes are false. He explained that he wasn't sure if he could comply with Doe's demands. Doe became hostile—circling around Meriwether at first, and then approaching him in a threatening manner: "I guess this means I can call you a cu--." Id. Doe promised that Meriwether would be fired if he did not give in to Doe's demands.

Meriwether reported the incident to senior university officials, including the Dean of Students and his department chair, Jennifer Pauley. University officials then informed their Title IX office of the incident. Officials from that office met with Doe and escalated Doe's complaint to Roberta Milliken, the Acting Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dean Milliken went to Meriwether's office the next day. She "advised" that he "eliminate all sex-based references from his expression"—no using "he" or "she," "him" or "her," "Mr." or "Ms.," and so on. Id. at 1476–77. Meriwether pointed out that eliminating pronouns altogether was next to impossible, especially when teaching. So he proposed a compromise: He would keep using pronouns to address most students in class but would refer to Doe using only Doe's last name. Dean Milliken accepted this compromise, apparently believing it followed the university's gender-identity policy.

Doe continued to attend and participate in Meriwether's class. But Doe remained dissatisfied and, two weeks into the semester, complained to university officials again. So Dean Milliken paid Meriwether another visit. This time, she said that if Meriwether did not address Doe as a woman, he would be violating the university's policy.

Soon after, Meriwether accidentally referred to Doe using the title "Mr." before immediately correcting himself. Around this time, Doe again complained to the university's Title IX Coordinator and threatened to retain counsel if the university didn't take action. So Dean Milliken once again came to Meriwether's office. She reiterated her earlier demand and threatened disciplinary action if he did not comply.

Trying to find common ground, Meriwether asked whether the university's policy would allow him to use students’ preferred pronouns but place a disclaimer in his syllabus "noting that he was doing so under compulsion and setting forth his personal and religious beliefs about gender identity." R. 34,...