UC Berkeley faces suit over Ann Coulter event

Conservative campus groups’ lawyer decries canceled appearance

BERKELEY — In the latest salvo over UC Berkeley’s attempts to control an appearance by Ann Coulter, an attorney for conservative student groups said Saturday that she is preparing a lawsuit against the university following its cancellation of the conservative pundit’s scheduled April 27 visit to the campus.

Harmeet Dhillon of the Dhillon Law Group sent a letter to Christopher Patti, chief campus counsel for UC Berkeley’s office of legal affairs, on Friday, stating that her clients “are left with no choice but to seek relief in court from UC Berkeley’s illegal policy of selectively silencing student speech.”

The Dhillon Law Group represents the Berkeley College Republicans and the Young America’s Foundation, a conservative youth organization.

The letter follows UC Berkeley’s decision on Wednesday to cancel the April 27 event because the university said it could not guarantee the safety of Coulter or the people attending the rally. After an outcry by conservative groups, Cal offered an alternate date — May 2 — for Coulter to speak, saying it would allow more time to arrange logistics and security. But Coulter rebuffed that offer and publicly stated that she intends to speak on April 27.

Dhillon also rejected the new date and gave the university an ultimatum: Allow Coulter to speak at the April 27 event or face litigation.

“We are drafting a lawsuit and hope that Berkeley will do the right thing in the face of national pressure,” Dhillon said Saturday. “It’s pretty clear. There is a First Amendment right of student groups to have equal access to university facilities. The university can’t impose artificial discriminatory rules on differing viewpoints that it doesn’t impose on other viewpoints.”

Dhillon cited the legal doctrine of the “heckler’s veto,” which is when the government prevents a public speech or event on threats of interruptions, protests or violence.

The mounting national pressure over the issue has elicited criticism from both sides, with Bill Maher, a liberal comedian and host of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” on Friday night calling UC Berkeley the former “cradle of free speech,” but now the “cradle for (expletive) babies.”

Maher also referenced an effort by university students to prevent him from speaking at the school’s 2014 commencement address over inflammatory statements he made about Muslims and religion. Ultimately, Maher was allowed to speak.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also condemned threats of violence in an interview with the Huffington Post on Thursday night. Sanders said that “Obviously Ann Coulter’s outrageous — to my mind, off the wall. But you know, people have a right to give their two cents-worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation.”