Law Schools

Law Student Allegedly Makes Threat Of Gun Violence Against Professor, Gets Suspended, Sues School To Take Finals

This wee little 1L actually won his case against the school.

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No, not that kind of gunner…

Law students across the country are in the middle of finals, and as we all know, this is a time when law professors’ names are taken in vain and spurious threats against life and limb are made out of sheer frustration. Ever muttered under your breath that you’d burn your law school to the ground if you didn’t get a good grade on a final? Oh, haven’t we all? Ever said that you’d go on a shooting spree and name the first professor you’d kill if you didn’t get a good grade on a final? Not many of us have, and it seems that the one law student who allegedly did got suspended over his remarks. But thanks to this student’s pro se lawsuit against the school, he’s been allowed back on campus to take his finals.

Meet Brandon Masin, a first-year law student at the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law. Massin is a concealed firearm carrier, and according to UNT Law, he allegedly threatened to “hold up the UNT Dallas College of Law and begin with [his professor] if he did not receive good grades on his finals.” The administration suspended Massin, citing a violation of the school’s code of conduct.

His suspension was to begin on November 29 and end on July 19, 2019, meaning he would be unable to take his final exams for this semester or take any classes during the upcoming spring semester. This obviously didn’t sit well with Massin — who denied making such comments in the first place — so he filed a complaint against the school, requesting a restraining order that would allow him to take his finals.

Thanks to Dallas County District Court Judge Dale Tillery, it looks like Massin is going to get exactly what he wants. Law360 (sub. req.) has more information:

The judge told Masin and the school he wanted to come up with a “reasonable plan” for Masin to take his exams. The judge told counsel for UNT-Dallas the university could pursue options like having Masin accompanied by security during his time on campus, and said if the university didn’t want to accommodate Masin, then “you need to be prepared to talk me out of that.”

As part of his Wednesday agreement with the school, Masin agreed not to carry any weapons on campus and to consent to custodial searches by authorized personnel to verify his compliance.

“I don’t fault the school for what they did,” Judge Tillery said. “The school has a duty to look out for all the students.” Masin will have to report to UNT Law’s police office on campus to take his final exams, but he’ll be allowed to take them. And perhaps most importantly, he won his first case as a wee little 1L. Congratulations!

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Regardless of whether Massin made the remarks UNT Law claims he did, law students should allow this to serve as a lesson. Times have changed in this country, and making threats about gun violence will no longer fly. Don’t do stupid s**t like this.

Texas Law School Walks Back Student’s Exam Ban [Law360]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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