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.
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.
The university remained free to express its abhorrence of racial and other forms of prejudice.
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.