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On Monday, the Liberty Justice Center announced that all charges had been dropped against now-former Arizona State University student Tim Tizon, who was arrested and charged with trespassing after handing out copies of the Constitution on campus in March 2022.
Tizon had been distributing the document to his fellow students while representing ASU's Young Americans for Liberty student organization when he was apprehended for allegedly not complying with the university's policy on free speech, which mandated that such activities were reserved for certain areas of campus. He was convicted and ordered by the University Lakes Justice Court to pay and fine and perform community service.
According to the Liberty Justice Center, Tizon appealed to the Maricopa County Circuit Court with pro bono representation from lawyers at the LJC, and won, with the court opting not to try and defend the "obvious violation of Tizon’s First Amendment rights."
On Monday, the charges were dropped, and Tizon was once again a free man. “Free Speech is the cornerstone of American values," he said, relieved. "It is refreshing to see that the Arizona justice system finally recognizes this after more than a year of wrongful prosecution."
LJC president Jacob Huebert celebrated the victory, saying, "What could be more obviously constitutional than handing out copies of the Constitution?"
"We're pleased the State has finally recognized the force of our arguments," he added, "but now we expect ASU to update its policies to fully protect the rights of all students to speak on campus."
Director of Student Rights at YAL, JP Kirby, accused ASU of using its freedom of speech and assembly restrictions to "harass activists such as Tim for years," suggesting that, "ASU officials showed how much more the school values its own bureaucratic processes than the freedom of its students."
"I'm glad to see the state acknowledge that Tim's rights outweigh the school's desire to prosecute a student trying to share the Constitution with his classmates," he added.
Tizon had been distributing the document to his fellow students while representing ASU's Young Americans for Liberty student organization when he was apprehended for allegedly not complying with the university's policy on free speech, which mandated that such activities were reserved for certain areas of campus. He was convicted and ordered by the University Lakes Justice Court to pay and fine and perform community service.
According to the Liberty Justice Center, Tizon appealed to the Maricopa County Circuit Court with pro bono representation from lawyers at the LJC, and won, with the court opting not to try and defend the "obvious violation of Tizon’s First Amendment rights."
On Monday, the charges were dropped, and Tizon was once again a free man. “Free Speech is the cornerstone of American values," he said, relieved. "It is refreshing to see that the Arizona justice system finally recognizes this after more than a year of wrongful prosecution."
LJC president Jacob Huebert celebrated the victory, saying, "What could be more obviously constitutional than handing out copies of the Constitution?"
"We're pleased the State has finally recognized the force of our arguments," he added, "but now we expect ASU to update its policies to fully protect the rights of all students to speak on campus."
Director of Student Rights at YAL, JP Kirby, accused ASU of using its freedom of speech and assembly restrictions to "harass activists such as Tim for years," suggesting that, "ASU officials showed how much more the school values its own bureaucratic processes than the freedom of its students."
"I'm glad to see the state acknowledge that Tim's rights outweigh the school's desire to prosecute a student trying to share the Constitution with his classmates," he added.
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