Judge Dismisses Hate Speech Case Against University Of Vermont Student

From Campus Reform:

A Burlington, Vermont judge dismissed a criminal case against a University of Vermont (UVM) student who was accused of using racially disparaging comments during a phone conversation.

University officials claimed in October that continuing education major Wesley Richter used “explicitly racist and threatening language” against black students and diversity initiatives on campus, reports Burlington CBS affiliate WCAX.

Judge David Fenster’s decision to dismiss the case on Tuesday for lack of probable cause ends two months of review after UVM police charged Richter with a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

According to the Burlington Free Press, Richter’s lawyer, Ben Luna, said the conversation in the library multimedia room between Richter and his mother contained no threats, but prosecutors argued in October that Richter’s comments specifically targeted black students, and as such, constituted a crime.

Notably, however, Seven Days reported shortly after the charges were filed that UVM police had issued a statement saying that after conducting “a thorough investigation and threat assessment,” it had “found no information of an imminent threat to public safety.”

Despite Tuesday’s ruling, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George said her office still believes that it was appropriate to file charges against Richter, saying, “What we allege he did, we still allege he did. It just didn’t rise to the level of a hate crime.”

Richter’s attorney, Ben Luna, however, offered a very different appraisal, saying the judge’s determination makes clear that the charges never should have been filed.

“This opinion is a victory for the First Amendment. This opinion is a victory for free speech on university campuses,” Luna declared in a statement after the dismissal.

Continue reading the full article.