Facts

Berkeley students held a week long informational session called Open University to protest budget cuts and tuition hikes in December 2009. University officials initially allowed students to set up the event a week before final exams in Wheeler Hall, a frequent site for student activism. University officials later decided to ignore their previous agreement and have all the participants in Open University arrested. Police sealed off Wheeler Hall and began handcuffing students as they slept.

Six students filed a class action, claiming that the university normally cites and releases those charged with nonviolent misdemeanors, but in this case they were sent to jail for expressing their First Amendment rights.

Result

The court refused to dismiss the plaintiffs' claims against University Police Chief Mitchell Celaya and University Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Harry LeGrande. However, the case against University Chancellor Robert Birgeneau was dismissed.