Overview
- U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin issued a preliminary injunction that bars the government from imposing a fine exceeding $1 billion and from withholding UC system funding.
- The ruling cites likely First Amendment violations and finds federal investigators failed to follow required Title VI procedures, calling the tactics coercive and retaliatory.
- The case was brought by an AAUP-led coalition representing faculty, staff, and students, naming President Trump and senior officials as defendants.
- Lin’s opinion situates the UC dispute within a broader pattern that includes settlements with Columbia ($200 million) and Brown ($50 million) and a government loss in the Harvard funding case.
- UC leaders continue settlement talks with the administration as the DOJ and FBI open an investigation into recent protests at UC Berkeley, and further appeals are expected.