From right this moment’s opinion by Decide Robert Pitman (W.D. Tex.) in Qaddumi v. Hartzell:
Qaddumi challenges his suspension from the College of Texas at Austin (“UT”), the place Defendants at present work or beforehand labored as directors, as a violation of his constitutional rights. Qaddumi was concerned in planning a protest, to incorporate a “stroll out of sophistication,” “visitor speaker,” and two “teach-in[s]”, about ongoing violence in Gaza in April 2024 as a member of the Palestine Solidarity Committee (“PSC”).
He alleges these deliberate protest actions had been peaceable in nature, however college officers claimed that protests held by aligned teams at “Columbia, Rutgers, and Yale” had been “creating campus encampments” (apparently referencing the College students for Justice in Palestine (“SJP”) pupil group, a separate entity with teams on these campuses) and have disrupted college operations to such a level that they foresaw this, too, would disrupt college actions. UT issued a directive to college students ordering them to not maintain the occasion, or to face self-discipline beneath the college guidelines. Qaddumi alleges the PSC responded to UT’s directive and defined that the deliberate protest was peaceable and academic in nature, and that they’d no plans for organising an in a single day “encampment.”
Individually, in March 2024, the Governor of Texas issued an government order defining PSC as a “radical” group and defining as “antisemitic” phrases that PSC makes use of at protests, similar to “from the river to the ocean, Palestine can be free,” and stating views a lot of its members maintain, similar to saying that Israel’s present insurance policies evaluate to these of Germany throughout World Battle II, are additionally antisemitic. The manager order instructed UT to “be certain that [its] insurance policies are being enforced and that teams such because the [PSC] and [SJP] are disciplined for violating [UT] insurance policies.”
Qaddumi, together with different college students, proceeded with the April 2024 protest regardless of the directive to cancel it. Members of the UT Police Division arrived on the protest and referred to as for college students to disperse their protest, and Qaddumi alleges he relayed their directions to the gang. On accusations of felony trespass, UT cops subsequently arrested Qaddumi amongst different college students. After his arrest, Qaddumi alleges he and his fellow protesters had been launched and charged with no crimes.
On the protest, Qaddumi alleges that counter-protesters had been current holding Israeli flags and indicators criticizing Palestine, who weren’t arrested. Qaddumi additionally alleges that college students have held comparable protests prior to now who weren’t arrested or topic to a police response, similar to an August 2020 demonstration in response to the homicide of George Floyd; an April 2023 demonstration about compensation for graduate pupil work; and an April 2024 protest in regards to the college firing employees members centered on advancing range and inclusion.
In July 2024, UT initiated disciplinary proceedings in opposition to Qaddumi, alleging that his participation within the April protests violated UT’s institutional guidelines. Within the proceedings, Qaddumi defended his actions and defined that the allegations by UT in opposition to him relied on statements made by college students and teams with which he had no affiliation. UT sought his suspension for 3 semesters. A September choice by UT’s Scholar Conduct Panel discovered Qaddumi had didn’t adjust to a college directive however discovered that Qaddumi ought to be topic to a deferred suspension, which means he might stay at UT.
However subsequently, UT’s Scholar Conduct and Tutorial Integrity (“SCAI”) workplace appealed the choice to not droop Qaddumi to a College Appellate Officer. The College Appellate Officer issued a choice in October 2024 discovering that as a result of Qaddumi each engaged in inciting conduct and didn’t adjust to a directive, he could be suspended from UT for one yr, till August 2025. This choice is closing and never administratively appealable. Till then, Qaddumi can not attend class, go to campus, or earn credit towards his diploma….
The court docket allowed Qaddumi’s First Modification declare to go ahead as to his request for an injunction (although it discovered the defendants had certified immunity as to Qaddumi’s damages declare). The court docket concluded that it wasn’t clear to what extent Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Faculty Dist. (1969), which held that Okay-12 faculties have energy to limit considerably disruptive pupil speech, applies to public universities. Nevertheless it reasoned:
Even ought to Tinker be assumed to use to universities, (and as described above, the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court docket haven’t held as a lot), its software have to be in step with the traits of the college setting. Healy v. James (1972) (First Modification evaluation on the college degree have to be carried out “in gentle of the particular traits of the setting within the specific case” because the Supreme Court docket “made clear in Tinker“). The Supreme Court docket has lengthy acknowledged that universities are “important facilities for the Nation’s mental life,” to the extent that “hazard … from the chilling of particular person thought and expression” “is particularly actual within the College setting, the place the State acts in opposition to a background and custom of thought and experiment that’s on the heart of our mental and philosophic custom.” In different phrases, what could also be a considerable disruption in a secondary faculty setting is probably not a considerable disruption in a college setting; what could disrupt a secondary faculty might even be elementary to universities.
The attribute of universities as an setting for vigorous debate could also be “end result determinative” when deciding whether or not a restriction on pupil speech is viewpoint discrimination versus a legitimate restriction of foreseeable disruption to campus actions. Additionally, the Supreme Court docket has held {that a} state college can not expel a pupil in retaliation for partaking in an exercise protected by the First Modification. See Papish v. Bd. of Curators of the Univ. of Mo. (1973)….
Qaddumi has plausibly pled a declare difficult his suspension as retaliatory and as viewpoint discrimination. Amongst different information, Qaddumi alleges that (1) the Governor instructed Defendants to focus on protests that supported Palestine with restrictions and self-discipline, and Defendants sought to take action by forbidding Qaddumi’s protest and subsequently suspending Qaddumi; (2) Qaddumi was suspended not due to his actions alone, however due to actions of different college students who share comparable political sentiments however no different affiliation; and (3) different college students on the scene of the protest, who didn’t have the identical views as Qaddumi, weren’t equally disciplined, nor produce other comparable protests on totally different matters traditionally resulted in UT forbidding protests and subsequently suspending college students…. Qaddumi has supplied … proof [of retaliatory motive] by figuring out counter-protestors on the scene who weren’t disciplined. Additionally, Qaddumi alleges that UT has permitted college students to equally protest about different matters, like UT employees’ circumstances and racial justice, with out later suspending them for protesting….
Qaddumi’s allegations present a heightened setting amongst UT officers surrounding disciplining college students for protesting in assist of Palestinian rights. Qaddumi alleges that UT officers had been motivated to limit the speech of pro- Palestine pupil teams particularly, as a result of Governor Abbott ordered that universities undertake insurance policies that restrict pro-Palestine protests and pupil teams, similar to disciplining pro-Palestine pupil teams and banning college students from guaranteeing statements about Israel’s insurance policies towards Palestine. This Court docket has already acknowledged that the Governor’s order to universities possible violated the First Modification as a type of viewpoint discrimination, see College students for Simply. in Palestine v. Abbott(W.D. Tex. 2024) (“GA-44-compliant college insurance policies [likely] impose impermissible viewpoint discrimination.”), and Qaddumi has pled that college officers derived their motive to droop him from that order….
Additionally, Qaddumi pleads that he was not a member of the SJP, however slightly a definite group, the PSC. Qaddumi alleges the PSC and SJP share political beliefs however no different affiliation, and that they don’t make use of the identical techniques, nor do they usually collaborate. Qaddumi alleges that UT officers cited previous protests by the SJP as motivation for his or her choice to droop Qaddumi. In different phrases, Qaddumi alleges he was suspended at the very least partly due to the prior actions of a pupil group of which he’s a not a member however solely shares comparable views. General, Qaddumi’s allegations suffice to create a believable inference that retaliation for his protected speech and viewpoint discrimination triggered his suspension in violation of the First Modification.
Joseph Y. Ahmad (Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing, PLLC) and Brian Rolland McGiverin characterize plaintiff.
