Judge Says Campus Protest Rules Violate Speech, Religious Freedom: First Amendment Doesn’t Have Bedtime

A district judge ruled Tuesday that the University of Texas’ (UT) new protest rules restricting “expressive activity” after 10 p.m. were unconstitutional.

Judge David Alan Ezra, a Reagan appointee, said the rule was too vague and could be used to ban religious activities such as an evening or early morning Easter church service, as singing and prayers could be classified as disruptive. The case was brought by the Fellowship of Christian University Students at the University of Texas at Dallas, Young Americans for Liberty and several music groups.

“The First Amendment does not mandate a 10 p.m. bedtime,” Ezra wrote in the court opinion. “The government bears the burden of proving that its actions are narrowly tailored to achieving a compelling governmental interest. It has not done so.”

Michigan State University students and other community members attend a prayer service for those killed and injured at the university February 14, 2023 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

UT implemented the new restrictions in response to a state law passed in June requiring universities to adopt “reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner of expressing the activities of enrolled students and employees of the institution in common outdoor areas of the institution’s campus.” However, the bill requires that the restrictions be “narrowly tailored to serve an important institutional interest,” which the court says the UT rules failed to achieve.

The law also requires universities in the state to prohibit the use of amplified sounds to intimidate others or disrupt university activities. UT policy states that “drums or other musical or percussion instruments” may in some cases be considered disruptive and therefore prohibited.

The judge’s order temporarily blocks the system from enforcing the policy.

The university system did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news service, is available free to any legitimate news publisher capable of delivering a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and DCNF affiliation. For questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact licenses@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.