The court then presented the deposition of Eugene Volokh, an expert in First Amendment law who was the chair of the Committee on Academic Freedom at UCLA at the time of Klein’s suspension.

On June 30, 2020, the committee released a statement expressing concern that Bernardo’s public announcement of Klein being placed on administrative leave could create a “chilling effect” among faculty members. Volokh said in the deposition that the committee sought to investigate, but not come to a conclusion about Klein’s suspension and Bernardo’s email.