University of Hawai’i at Manoa: University Changes Law Professor’s Hypothetical Example After Student Complaint
Cases
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Case Overview
A student complained in September 2024 about a hypothetical example used by University of Hawai’i at Manoa law professor Kenneth Lawson. The hypothetical, which Lawson used to demonstrate the criminal law concept of “transferred intent,” included images of two deans at the university—one of whom shoots at the other, misses, and hits Lawson accidentally. At a meeting in November, administrators insisted Lawson change the hypothetical, despite admitting it did not violate any university policy. Lawson declined, instead turning to ݮƵAPP. We wrote the university on December 13, explaining that Lawson’s hypothetical was protected by his academic freedom rights. The university responded on January 3, 2025, declining to engage with the substance of the letter, and university administrators unilaterally changed the hypothetical to remove deans’ images, while keeping Lawson as the victim of the shooting. ݮƵAPP wrote the university again on January 23 urging the university to restore the original version of the hypothetical and raising concerns that the university would unilaterally change a professor’s course content without the professor’s consent.