Ct. Feb. 27, 1995), was a case in which the Santa Clara County Superior Court ruled that Stanford University's speech code violated the freedom of speech rights of its students guaranteed under California's Leonard Law.
The 1992 law had applied the First Amendment to all of California's secular private colleges and universities.
On February 27, 1995, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Peter G. Stone ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.
Stone also ruled that the Leonard Law was constitutional, essentially because it did not in any way restrict the speech of the university as a corporate entity.
To be able to express its own opposition to prejudice, he ruled that it was not necessary for the university to have the power to prohibit speech with which it strongly disagreed.