There is a major ruling out of the United States States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in favor of a middle school science teacher, Eric Dodge, who was barred from wearing a “Make America Great Again” baseball cap and later berated by the principal, Caroline Garrett, as a “racist” and a “homophobe.” The unanimous court ruled that the hat was protected speech under the First Amendment.

District Court judge James L. Robart ruled against Dodge and dismissed the case in its entirety. (Robart is the judge who was publicly denounced by former President Trump). Robart dismissed the case on the grounds of qualified immunity or a failure to substantiate claims.

The Ninth Circuit reversed Robart, but it did uphold the dismissal of the case against two defendants, the Evergreen Public Schools district and the district’s Chief Human Resources Officer Jenae Gomes. …

“Dodge’s speech was his display of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign slogan on a red hat. The content of this speech is quintessentially a matter of public concern. The messages of candidates for public office are not only newsworthy; they inherently relate to the ‘political, social, or other concern to the community.” Lane, 573 U.S. at 241 … Indeed, Principal Garrett and others viewed Dodge’s hat as a comment on issues such as immigration, racism, and bigotry, which are all matters of public concern. … And regardless of Dodge’s intent, the MAGA hat has an obvious political nature.”

[Well … duuuuh. I’m surprised that the 9th Circuit had such a clear grasp of the obvious, though. — Ed]