Case Name: Brett MERKEY and Young Socialist Alliance, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The BOARD OF REGENTS OF the STATE OF FLORIDA, etc., et al., Defendants-Appellees
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1974-05-10
Citations: 493 F.2d 790
Docket Number: No. 72-3231
Parties: Brett MERKEY and Young Socialist Alliance, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The BOARD OF REGENTS OF the STATE OF FLORIDA, etc., et al., Defendants-Appellees.
Judges: 
Reporter: Federal Reporter 2d Series
Volume: 493
Pages: 790–794

Head Matter:
Brett MERKEY and Young Socialist Alliance, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The BOARD OF REGENTS OF the STATE OF FLORIDA, etc., et al., Defendants-Appellees.
No. 72-3231.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
May 10, 1974.
Rehearing and Rehearing En¡ Banc Denied June 11, 1974.
Michael F. Cycmanick, Jerome J. Bornstein, American Civil Liberties Union of Fla., Orlando, Fla., for plaintiffs-appellants.
Robert D. Bickel, Gen. Counsel, Fla. State Univ., Herbert D. Sikes, State Bd. of Educ., Stephen M. Slepin, Tallahassee, Fla., for defendants-appellees.
Before BELL, GOLDBERG and SIMPSON, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
This appeal was taken from an opinion and order in which the district court upheld the right of Florida State Uni versity (FSU), a member of the state-supported university system of the State of Florida, to refuse recognition as a student organization to the Young Socialist Alliance (YSA). Merkey v. Board of Regents, N.D.Fla.1972, 344 F. Supp. 1296. Appellant, Brett Merkey, and one other, Jack Lieberman, filed a petition for recognition on behalf of YSA in March of 1970. That petition was denied on the basis of a determination by Chairman Kibler of the Board of Regents, the governing body of the university system, that YSA, because of its dedication to the principle of revolution, had no place on a college campus and would not be entitled to official recognition on campuses of state universities in Florida.
Suit was filed in the district court challenging this denial on First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment grounds. Though the suit was initially filed as a class action on behalf of all groups of students required to seek official recognition as student organizations in state-supported schools, the district court denied class standing on grounds (1) that the plaintiff Merkey was not a student at the time that the suit was filed and hence not a member of the class he purported to represent, and (2) that each group applying for recognition would have to be considered on its individual merits and would thus pose differing questions of fact inappropriate to class actions. The denial of class standing is not challenged on this appeal.
During oral argument it was agreed by counsel in response to a question from the bench that neither the appellant, Merkey, nor his co-applicant, Lieberman, were students at FSU. As non-students they can have no interest in whether or not any student organization is allowed recognition on university campuses of Florida. Hence, Merkey is beyond the impact of any decision that this Court could render on this appeal. No present FSU student is shown by the record to seek recognition for YSA as an official student organization. In these circumstances and absent any appeal from the denial below of class action status, the appeal is moot. We therefore do not consider the merits. North Carolina v. Rice, 1971, 404 U.S. 244, 92 S.Ct. 402, 30 L.Ed.2d 413. The Court noted in Rice:
"Early in its history, this Court held that it had no power to issue advisory opinions, and it has frequently repeated that federal courts are without power to decide questions that cannot affect the rights of litigants in the case before them. To be cognizable in a federal court, a suit ' . must be a real and substantial controversy admitting of specific relief through a decree of conclusive character, as distinguished from an opinion advising what the law would be upon a hypothetical state of facts, (citations omitted).'" 404 U.S. at 246, 92 S.Ct. at 404, 30 L.Ed.2d at 415-416.
Cf. United States Servicemen's Fund et al. v. Killeen Independent School District et al., 5 Cir. 1974, 489 F.2d 693, recently dismissed as moot by this Court.
So that the district court judgment will not stand as a barrier to reapplication by students who might wish to seek recognition of YSA, or engender any other precedential consequences, it is vacated and this cause is remanded with directions that it be dismissed as moot. United States v. Munsingwear, 1950, 340 U.S. 36, 71 S.Ct. 104, 95 L.Ed. 36; National Lawyers Guild v. Board of Regents, 5 Cir. 1974, 490 F.2d 97; New Left Education Project v. Board of Regents, 5 Cir. 1973, 472 F.2d 218.
Vacated and remanded.
. See Fla.Stat. (1971) § 240.001 and 240.-042(2) F.S.A.
. The sole individual appellant. Lieberman did not participate other than as a witness' in the proceedings below.