American Civil Liberties Union v. Mote

**What happened:** The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the University of Maryland's policy that restricted where members of the general public could engage in outdoor speech on campus. The university had designated only two specific areas - the Nyumburu Amphitheater and sidewalks near the Stamp Student Union - where public speech activities were allowed. The ACLU argued this policy violated free speech rights. **What the court decided:** The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the University of Maryland. The court upheld the university's speech policy, finding that restricting public speech to designated areas on campus was legally acceptable. The appeals court agreed with a lower court that had previously ruled for the university. **Why this matters for workers:** This ruling affects workers' rights to engage in speech activities on public university campuses. University employees and others now know that public universities can legally limit where speech activities take place on their grounds, as long as they provide some designated areas for such expression. This could impact union organizing, protests, or other workplace speech activities on university campuses, as administrators can require these activities to occur only in specific locations rather than anywhere on campus.