University Of North Carolina Bans Civil Rights Center From Protecting Civil Rights

Take note, potential students: at UNC Law, saying that you support civil rights is "out of order."

The counter-revolution — all the hateful people and law makers who are popping up to stop kids from feeling safe in the bathroom and terrorize immigrants and elect Donald Trump — is being met by lawyers. Progressive lawyers are leading the charge, but even more-conservative lawyers are in the fight against the excesses of majoritarian will.

But there’s only so long you can grab the monster by the tail before its withering gaze swings around and notices you.

North Carolina — caught between a people that want to be more like Virginia, and a legislature that wants to be more like apartheid South Africa — swung around and found some lawyers it could silence. The fact that those lawyers were students mattered not at all. The monster always goes for the weakest target first.

On Friday, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted to ban litigation by all of its law centers. Technically, the rule applies to everybody, but only the UNC Center for Civil Rights does litigation work (on behalf of low-income minorities). This ban effectively ends the center.

Let’s be honest, this ban was not directed at the work conducted by the UNC Law School Center for Banking and Finance. It’s “civil rights” the board of governors has a problem with.

Martin Brinkley, current dean of UNC Law School, opposed the ban. Gene Nichol, former dean of UNC Law School, opposed the ban.

I bring that up because the people in favor of the ban argued that the center did not serve the “educational mission” of the school. It therefore seems relevant that the people in charge of educating the law students thought the center served a worthwhile purpose.

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Some also argued that it was inappropriate for the center to sue governments and municipalities, aided by taxpayer funds drawn from those governments and municipalities. But the Center for Civil Rights operates with grant funding. Taxpayer funds are not used to sue taxpayers.

Once you dispense with the stupid and incorrect “educational” and “taxpayer” arguments, the only reason to ban the center is because the UNC Board of Governors doesn’t like the work it does, and who it helps. The Board of Governors made their real reason exceedingly clear after the vote went down. From the Charlotte News & Observer:

After the vote, Mark Dorosin, an attorney at the center, stood and asked how the board could say it supported civil rights, after shutting the center down. “I implore you to be honest with the people of this state, you owe them that,” he said.

A board member interjected, saying Dorosin was out of order. “You’re out of order,” Dorosin said, his voice rising. “You’re out of order! To say that you support civil rights is out of order.”

“To say that you support civil rights is out of order,” at the University of North Carolina. I hope a diverse cross-section of potential law students believes UNC when it tells you what it wants to be.

Here is a list of North Carolina law schools where it is still okay to support civil rights:

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Duke University School of Law
Wake Forest University School of Law
Elon University School of Law
Campbell University: Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
North Carolina Central University School of Law

Knowledge is power.

UNC board bans legal action at civil rights center [Charlotte News & Observer]

Earlier:


Elie Mystal is an editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.