July 08, 2026 11:48 AM ET A Trump-appointed judge ruled against part of Republican Florida Gov. Ron Desantis’s “Stop WOKE Act” on Tuesday holding that it violates the First Amendment. In a 2-1 decision the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit blocked the higher education portion of the 2022 Sunshine State law that was meant to stop left-wing gender ideology and critical race theory from being taught in schools, according to the ruling.The 2022 law prohibited professors and workplace training from teaching about race or gender in a way that induces guilt or blame in the classroom, under threat of a fine or penalty. Florida argued that the professor’s classroom speech belongs to the state because they are paid by the government. Judge Britt Grant — who President Donald Trump appointed