Bhattacharya v. Murray

• Docket Number: 22-1999,22-2064
• Decision Date: 26 February 2024
• Citation: 93 F.4th 675
• Parties: Kieran Ravi BHATTACHARYA, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. James B. MURRAY, Jr., in his official capacity as Rector of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Whittington W. Clement, in his official capacity as Vice Rector of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Robert M. Blue; Mark T. Bowles; L. D. Britt, M.D., M.P.H.; Frank M. Conner, III; Elizabeth M. Cranwell; Thomas A. Depasquale; Barbara J. Fried; John A. Griffin; Louis S. Haddad; Robert D. Hardie; Maurice A. Jones; Babur B. Lateef, M.D.; Angela Hucles Mangano; C. Evans Poston, Jr.; James V. Reyes, in his official capacity as Member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Peter C. Brunjes, in his official capacity as Member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Melissa Fielding, in her official capacity as Deputy Chief of Police of the University of Virginia; John J. Densmore, M.D., Ph.D., in his official capacity as Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs of the University of Virginia School of Medicine; Jim B. Tucker, M.D., in his official capacity as Chair of the Academic Standards and Achievement Committee of the University of Virginia School of Medicine; Christine Peterson, M.D., Assistant Dean for Medical Education of the University of Virginia School of Medicine; Evelyn R. Fleming; Carlos M. Brown; Lewis Franklin (L. F.) Payne, Jr., Defendants - Appellees. Kieran Ravi Bhattacharya, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. James B. Murray, Jr., in his official capacity as Rector of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Whittington Whiteside Clement, in his official capacity as Vice Rector of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Robert M. Blue; Mark T. Bowles; L. D. Britt, M.D., M.P.H.; Frank M. Conner, III; Elizabeth M. Cranwell; Thomas A. Depasquale; Barbara J. Fried; John A. Griffin; Louis S. Haddad; Robert D. Hardie; Maurice A. Jones; Babur B. Lateef, M.D.; Angela Hucles Mangano; C. Evans Poston, Jr.; James V. Reyes, in his official capacity as Member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Peter C. Brunjes, in his official capacity as Member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Melissa Fielding, in her official capacity as Deputy Chief of Police of the University of Virginia; John J. Densmore, M.D., Ph.D., in his official capacity as Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs of the University of Virginia School of Medicine; Jim B. Tucker, M.D., in his official capacity as Chair of the Academic Standards and Achievement Committee of the University of Virginia School of Medicine; Christine Peterson, M.D., Assistant Dean for Medical Education of the University of Virginia School of Medicine; Evelyn R. Fleming; Carlos M. Brown; Lewis Franklin (L. F.) Payne, Jr. Defendants - Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

93 F.4th 675

Kieran Ravi BHATTACHARYA, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. James B. MURRAY, Jr., in his official capacity as Rector of

the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia;

Whittington W. Clement, in his official capacity as Vice Rector of

the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Robert M. Blue;

Mark T. Bowles; L. D. Britt, M.D., M.P.H.; Frank M. Conner, III;

Elizabeth M. Cranwell; Thomas A. Depasquale; Barbara J. Fried; John A. Griffin;

Louis S. Haddad; Robert D. Hardie; Maurice A. Jones;

Babur B. Lateef, M.D.; Angela Hucles Mangano; C. Evans Poston, Jr.;

James V. Reyes, in his official capacity as Member of the Board of

Visitors of the University of Virginia; Peter C. Brunjes,

in his official capacity as Member of the Board of Visitors of

the University of Virginia; Melissa Fielding, in her official capacity

as Deputy Chief of Police of the University of Virginia; John J. Densmore, M.D.,

Ph.D., in his official capacity as Associate Dean for Admissions

and Student Affairs of the University of Virginia School of Medicine;

Jim B. Tucker, M.D., in his official capacity as Chair of

the Academic Standards and Achievement Committee of the University of

Virginia School of Medicine; Christine Peterson, M.D.,

Assistant Dean for Medical Education of the University of

Virginia School of Medicine; Evelyn R. Fleming; Carlos M. Brown;

Lewis Franklin (L. F.) Payne, Jr., Defendants - Appellees.

Kieran Ravi Bhattacharya, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. James B. Murray, Jr., in his official capacity as Rector of

the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia;

Whittington Whiteside Clement, in his official capacity as Vice Rector of

the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia;

Robert M. Blue; Mark T. Bowles; L. D. Britt, M.D., M.P.H.;

Frank M. Conner, III; Elizabeth M. Cranwell; Thomas A. Depasquale;

Barbara J. Fried; John A. Griffin; Louis S. Haddad; Robert D. Hardie;

Maurice A. Jones; Babur B. Lateef, M.D.; Angela Hucles Mangano;

C. Evans Poston, Jr.; James V. Reyes, in his official capacity as Member of

the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia; Peter C. Brunjes,

in his official capacity as Member of the Board of Visitors of

the University of Virginia; Melissa Fielding, in her official capacity

as Deputy Chief of Police of the University of Virginia;

John J. Densmore, M.D., Ph.D., in his official capacity

as Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs of

the University of Virginia School of Medicine; Jim B. Tucker, M.D.,

in his official capacity as Chair of the Academic Standards

and Achievement Committee of the University of Virginia School of Medicine;

Christine Peterson, M.D., Assistant Dean for Medical Education of the University of

Virginia School of Medicine; Evelyn R. Fleming;

Carlos M. Brown; Lewis Franklin (L. F.) Payne, Jr. Defendants - Appellees.

No. 22-1999

No. 22-2064

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Argued: October 24, 2023

Decided: February 26, 2024

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Charlottesville.Norman K. Moon, Senior District Judge.(3:19-cv-00054-NKM-JCH)

ARGUED: Michael J. Lockerby, FOLEY & LARDNER LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant.Frederick William Eberstadt, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.ON BRIEF: Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General, Charles H. Slemp, III, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Andrew N. Ferguson, Solicitor General, Erika L. Maley, Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Kevin M. Gallagher, Deputy Solicitor General, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.

Before THACKER and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by published opinion.Judge Thacker wrote the opinion, in which Judge Keenan concurred.Judge Quattlebaum wrote a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

THACKER, Circuit Judge:

Kieran Bhattacharya("Appellant") is a former medical student at the University of Virgnia School of Medicine ("UVA").He claims that numerous UVA officials (collectively, "Appellees")¹ reprimanded, suspended, and then expelled him in violation of the First Amendment because of the views he expressed during a faculty panel -- in other words, because of his protected speech.Appellees assert they took these actions against Appellantnot because of his speech, but as a result of Appellant's confrontational, threatening, behavior.

The district court sided with Appellees, holding at summary judgment that Appellant could point to no evidence that Appellees punished Appellant due to his speech.

We agree.Appellant has failed to present evidence sufficient to create a triable issue as to whether his speech caused the actions UVA took against him.A medical school's administrators have the authority to set the minimum standards of professionalism for conferral of a medical doctorate.Even more, they have the authority and obligation to ensure the safety of the school's faculty and staff.Appellees appropriately exercised that authority with due regard for the Constitution.

We affirm.

I.

A.

Appellant began medical school at UVA in the fall of 2016.By January 2017, Appellant checked himself into UVA Health System's emergency department with mental health symptoms.He reported that he was "feeling out of it in the head."J.A.at 2050.²While Appellant was in the hospital, his roommates contacted AppelleeDr. John Densmore, the Dean of Student Affairs, about Appellant's problems.Dean Densmore visited Appellant in the hospital.Following a two week hospitalization, during which Appellant had symptoms "consistent with a manic episode of psychosis,"id. at 1313, Appellant was discharged and was diagnosed with "[b]ipolar disorder, current manic episode, with psychosis,"id.Appellant took a voluntary leave from UVA starting on February 7, 2017.He returned to class in Spring 2018.

In September 2018, Appellant reported to Dr. Christine Peterson, a faculty member who was the dean on call at the time,³ that a mental health episode was preventing him from sleeping or studying.He requested that he be able to delay taking an exam, and his request was granted.Dean Peterson informed other faculty members, including Dean Densmore, about Appellant's call.

B.

On October 25, 2018, the student chapter of the American Medical Women's Association hosted a faculty panel called "Microaggressions: Why Are 'They' So Sensitive?"Appellant attended that panel, and he claims to have been punished by UVA for certain statements he made, and questions he asked, on the topic of microaggressions.⁴

During the panel, several faculty members offered their views and research on microaggressions, and another faculty member moderated.At the end, the moderator opened the floor for questions from the audience.Appellant was the first student to address the panel.He had the following interaction:

[Appellant]: Hello.Thank you for your presentation.I had a few questions just to clarify your definition of microaggressions.Is it a requirement, to be a victim of microaggression, that you are a member of a marginalized group?

[Dr. Beverly] Adams[, a faculty panelist]: Very good question.And no.And no—

[Appellant]: But in the definition, it just said you have to be a member of a marginalized group—in the definition you just provided in the last slide.So that's contradictory.

[Dr.] Adams: What I had there is kind of the generalized definition.In fact, I extend it beyond that.As you see, I extend it to any marginalized group, and sometimes it's not a marginalized group.There are examples that you would think maybe not fit, such as body size, height, [or] weight.And if that is how you would like to see me expand it, yes, indeed, that's how I do.

[Appellant]: Yeah, follow-up question.Exactly how do you define marginalized and who is a marginalized group?Where does that go?I mean, it seems extremely nonspecific.

[Dr.] Adams: And—that's intentional.That's intentional to make it more nonspecific . . . .

J.A. 1314-16.

After this exchange, Appellant continued to critique Dr. Adams' theory and impugn her research as anecdotal.Appellant asked a series of follow-up questions until UVA faculty panelist Dr. Sara Rasmussen intervened.Dr. Rasmussen discussed her own understanding of microaggressions, offered an anecdote, and attempted to open the floor to other students for questions.But Appellant took the microphone again to contest Dr. Rasmussen's statements, and the two briefly argued until Dr. Rasmussen called on another student to ask a question.

One of the faculty panelists, Dr. Nora Kern, later emailed Dean Peterson about Appellant's interaction with the panel.Drs. Kern and Peterson were the only members of the UVA faculty present during the microaggressions panel.Dr. Kern initiated the email exchange by asking if Dean Peterson knew who the "extremely unprofessional" student during the panel discussion was, and she suggested his behavior should be discussed by the School of Medicine's Academic Standards and Achievement Committee("ASAC").J.A. 1316.Dr. Kern expressed concern about how Appellant's professionalism would affect his rotations.Dean Peterson told Dr. Kern that, if she wished, she could submit a "Concern Card," a tool used by UVA to monitor students' professional behavior, which "may prompt review by ASAC but contains no punitive effect."Id.Thereafter, Dr. Kern submitted a Professionalism Concern Card to memorialize her concerns with Appellant's colloquy.

On November 1, Dean Densmore, who was Appellant's dean, submitted the Concern Card to the ASAC for review.The ASAC considered the Concern Card in a November 14 meeting and voted unanimously to send Appellant a letter the following day (the "ASAC Letter").⁵The letter was sent by Dr. Jim B. Tucker, a member of the ASAC.It read in its entirety as follows:

The [ASAC] has received notice of a concern about your behavior at a recent AMWA panel.It was thought to be unnecessarily antagonistic and

...