ARLINGTON, Va.—The United States District Court of Minnesota has granted victory to equine massage teacher Leda Mox of Becker, Minnesota in her case on whether teaching is protected under the First Amendment. The ruling follows a previous ruling where the court denied a motion to dismiss by the Commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education stating the “Commissioner has not provided (and could not appropriately provide at this stage) any evidence,” that the law requiring her to be licensed “advances at least important governmental interests and does not burden substantially more speech than is necessary.” Leda is represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), a public interest law firm.  

“This ruling is another victory for Leda, for teachers everywhere, and most importantly for the First Amendment,” said IJ Senior Attorney Jeffrey Redfern. “The right to free speech shall not be infringed. Teaching is speech, and is protected under the Constitution.” 

Leda’s case has been going on for years and stems from Leda’s passion for horses and her desire to teach others about how to take care of them. Horses, much like any human, can benefit from massage by alleviating muscle pain when training for athletic events, or just to ease tension and relax. Leda is an expert in the subject and has a bachelor’s degree in equine science as well as being certified in equine massage since 1997, when she skipped her high school graduation to attend one of the only certification programs in the country at the time. 

But the state of Minnesota doesn’t care about Leda’s credentials, or her subject matter expertise, or, most importantly, her constitutional protections under the First Amendment for occupational speech. What the Office of Higher Education instead cares about is forcing Leda to be licensed, complete a 30-page application, pay exorbitant fees up front (and then annually to maintain her license), and furnish the state with a great deal of information—most of which is completely inapplicable to her small business. The state even wanted to review Leda’s curriculum, even though no one at the Office of Higher Education knows anything about equine massage. 

But the First Amendment protects Leda’s right to free speech and to speak to others. That’s why Leda teamed up with IJ to fight back and protect the rights of everyone to teach. Now, a court agreed she can teach free of burdensome licensure requirements. 

Previously, IJ has successfully protected a Mississippi startup’s First Amendment right to create informal maps in the face of a regulatory board’s failed bid to shut the company down for supposedly practicing “land surveying” without a license. In California, IJ successfully defended a horseshoeing teacher’s right to talk about horseshoeing to willing students and the right of two end-of-life doulas to talk about home funerals with willing clients. IJ has also secured court victories all over the country—from the District of Columbia to Charleston to Savannah—for tour guides who want to tell stories without needing the government’s permission.  

#  #  # 

To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager at [email protected] (850) 376-4110. More information on the case is available at:  https://ij.org/case/minnesota-horse-teaching/