MONTANA — A formerMontana State University-Northern professor settled a lawsuit last week againsthis former department chair for allegedly removing handbills that advertised hisupcoming speech.The settlement between Doug Giebel and StephenSylvester, the former chair, was reportedly reached in order avoid further courtproceedings. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in2001 that Giebel’s First Amendment rights were violated when handbillsthat promoted his 1996 speech entitled, “The Regents, the Plan, and AcademicResponsibility,” were removed from campus bulletin boards.The appellatecourt returned the case to a federal district court in Great Falls to determinewho was responsible for removing the handbills, which was avoided by thesettlement.Giebel was awarded $26,500.
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