USDA Wins Dismissal in Student's First Amendment Case

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) successfully dismissed a lawsuit from a student claiming her First Amendment rights were violated at her high school regarding criticism of cow's milk.

On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin ruled that Marielle Williamson, who had graduated, didn't have standing to sue the USDA over alleged censorship at Eagle Rock High School.

The lawsuit arose when school officials instructed Williamson, a 17-year-old senior at the time, that she could not distribute literature promoting non-dairy milk while criticizing the dairy industry unless she also included materials on dairy milk's benefits.

Williamson, a vegan, alongside the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, filed the suit against the USDA and the Los Angeles Unified School District in May 2023.

While the district settled in November 2023, Williamson challenged the USDA's prohibition on restricting dairy milk sales in schools, claiming it infringed upon her free speech rights. However, the judge ruled that there was no evidence the USDA had attempted to silence Williamson or that the law governing the lunch program contained punitive measures for students.

The judge stated, "Mere allegations of a subjective chill are not an adequate substitute for a claim of specific present objective harm or a threat of specific future harm."

Currently, Williamson is a sophomore at Duke University studying in China. Deborah Press, the associate general counsel at the Physicians Committee, indicated that the nonprofit will evaluate options for further litigation based on the ruling. She noted, "The problem remains that there are thousands of students who rely on school meals and need an alternative to cow's milk. Marielle's lawsuit raised the conversation to the national level."

Although USDA representatives did not respond promptly to comment requests, the November 2023 settlement affirmed the right of students to criticize dairy products, pledging support for providing free soy milk options.

The case is cited as Williamson et al v US Department of Agriculture et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 23-03307.