Judge blocks Texas law restricting speech on college campuses at night

District Judge David Alan Ezra ruled Tuesday to block a Texas law that restricted protests and other free speech activities on college campuses at night and during finals week. 

Ezra issued a preliminary injunction after Texas lawmakers put restrictions on public universities banning “expressive activities” between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., along with outlawing amplified sound, guest speakers and certain free speech activities during finals week.  

“Expressive activities” are defined as “any speech or expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.” 

Ezra concluded the plaintiffs, a mix of student groups and free speech organizations, would suffer “irreparable harm” if the law remained in place.  

“The First Amendment does not have a bedtime of 10:00 p.m. The burden is on the government to prove that its actions are narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling governmental interest,” he said. “It has not done so.” 

The ruling was celebrated by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which is supporting the students in the lawsuit.  

“Texas’ law is so overbroad that any public university student chatting in the dorms past 10 p.m. would have been in violation,” said FIRE senior attorney Adam Steinbaugh. “We’re thankful that the court stepped in and halted a speech ban that inevitably would’ve been weaponized to censor speech that administrators disagreed with.”