A federal judge heard arguments Monday for the Students for Justice in Palestine’s lawsuit against the University of Maryland. The lawsuit accuses The University of Maryland and University System of Maryland Board of Regents of violating student’s first amendment rights following the cancellation of the Students for Justice in Palestine’s vigil scheduled for October 7.
In a decision made Oct. 1, a preliminary injunction was granted, allowing Students for Justice in Palestine to host an interfaith vigil on Oct. 7, 2024. The decision however, will not apply to all campuses under the University System of Maryland.
“This is a matter of law, not of wounded feelings. Free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment may be the most important law this country has,” U.S. District Judge, Paul Messite stated in the ruling.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations and Palestine Legal sued the University on the behalf of Students for Justice in Palestine chapter after Maryland President Dr. Darryll Pines announced Sep 1 that on-campus expressive events would be limited on Oct 7.
Court documents revealed that the SJP chapter at UMD followed all of the requirements in order to host an event on McKeldin Mall, one of four venues on campus where “scheduled expressive activity” can occur. Testimony at the hearing also indicated that the university could have pursued other alternatives to ensure safety, such as relying on local and state police and increasing security instead of banning expressive speech.
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Maryland, The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the Knight First Amendment at Columbia University filed an amicus brief in support of the SJP lawsuit a week after the lawsuit was announced as well. They argue that the ban is unconstitutional because of the university’s content-based restrictions and denies SJP’s first amendment rights.
