Judge says pro-Palestinian student groups can sue UT Austin and other university leaders

A federal judge has ruled that pro-Palestinian student groups have the right to sue top officials at several public universities in Texas for allegedly violating their First Amendment rights, as first reported by the Austin American-Statesman.. But in an order issued this week, Austin-based U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman said the groups could not sue Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who earlier this year ordered universities to change their free speech policies.

First, the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit back in May against Abbott, university leaders and the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System, as well as the University of the Houston System. Pitman said this week that plaintiffs can sue board members as part of their official duties.

The Muslim civil rights group represents student groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Committee at UT Austin, as well as Students for Justice in Palestine at UT Dallas and the University of Houston. Law enforcement students were arrested on all three campuses during the spring 2024 semester when they protested against the Israeli war in Gaza.

Abbott ordered universities to crack down on anti-Semitism

Gadeir Abbas, CAIR’s senior litigation attorney, said public universities in Texas have cracked down on pro-Palestinian protests in response to executive order Abbott released in March.

The Republican governor ordered public colleges and universities to do so update its free speech policies include a definition of anti-Semitism and create penalties for “anti-Semitic rhetoric.”

Abbott’s order also names student groups as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. He directed universities to ensure that the new free speech policy “is enforced on campuses and that groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Committee and Students for Justice in Palestine are punished for violating this policy.”

Abbas said Abbott’s order wrongly conflates anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel.

“It is very clear here that Governor Abbott has ordered his subordinates to disregard the First Amendment, to suppress pro-Palestinian speech, and the court is about to throw it out,” he said.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman wrote in his order that the plaintiffs will likely be able to prove that the university’s policies developed pursuant to Abbott’s order “impose impermissible viewpoint discrimination that chills speech, in violation of the First Amendment.”

Pitman dismissed Abbott as a defendant in the case on the grounds of “sovereign immunity,” which protects states from lawsuits.

Pitman, however, said a lawsuit could be brought against several university presidents, including UT Austin Chancellor Jay Hartzell and University of Houston President Renu Khator, because of their roles in ensuring Abbott’s order was implemented. implemented in their institutions.

Pitman denied a request by student groups to block Abbott’s executive order or university policies designed to comply with it while the case is pending.

Judge looks into alleged free speech violations at UT Austin

One part of the lawsuit that Pitman allows to proceed involves the Palestine Solidarity Committee at UT Austin, which alleges that the university violated the First Amendment by banning the group from protesting last April and then placing him on temporary suspension.

The night before and the morning of the April 24 protest, UT officials told the Palestine Solidarity Committee that the group could not organize a demonstration.

“The group that led this protest declared that it would violate the Institutional Regulations. Our policies matter and will be enforced. Our university will not be occupied,” President Hartzell wrote in an April 24 email to the UT community.

Law enforcement agencies, which Hartzell called on to respond, arrested more than 130 people during demonstrations on April 24 and 29.

Judge Pitman said in the order that the Palestine Solidarity Committee “adduced facts that, if believed, are sufficient to demonstrate that President Hartzell suspended the PSC-UT because of the group’s expressed viewpoints.”

While UT Austin spokesman Mike Rosen said the university’s response to the judge’s decision would be outlined in a future lawsuit, he told KUT News on Monday that the university is not restricting demonstrations based on viewpoint. Rather, if the university determines that an event will violate university policies or disrupt campus operations, “we may legally determine that the event cannot proceed as planned.”

Rosen shared this statement in reference to another case Pitman is presiding over. Last week, UT Austin suspended a student for violating university policies while participating in a pro-Palestinian protest on April 24. Ammer Qaddumi, member of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, asked Pitman to prevent the university from enforcing his suspension, but Pitman denied Qaddumi’s request for a temporary restraining order.