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Dames v. Roberts (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

April 2024
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Public college or university)
Chapel Hill, NC

Identity of Speakers

  • Laila Dames
    Unaffiliated
    Other

    Undergraduate student at Duke University; Plaintiff

  • Emily Rogers
    Unaffiliated
    Other

    Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University; Plaintiff

  • Kathryn Newman
    Unaffiliated
    Other

    Student at Meredith College and member of Meredith College Students for Justice in Palestine; Plaintiff

  • Mathangi Mohanarajah
    Student
    Other

    Undergraduate at UNC Chapel Hill; Plaintiff

  • Anshu Shah
    Student
    Other

    Undergraduate at UNC Chapel Hill; Plaintiff

Resources

Additional Information

  • Incident Nature:
    Rally or protest
    Organized outside group action
    Lawsuit
  • Incident Political Orientation:
    Not Clear
  • Incident Responses:
    University investigation issuing in sanctions
    Student sanctioned
    Campus police
    Other Law Enforcement
    Litigation
    Title IX or other federal statute
  • Incident Status:
    In litigation Federal District Court
    In litigation Federal Court of Appeals
    Appealed
  • Was Speech Code incident

Summary

On April 30, 2024, students and community members established a pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus. University administrators directed law enforcement to clear the encampment, resulting in multiple arrests. UNC subsequently imposed indefinite campus bans on several individuals associated with the protest, including restrictions issued without a pre deprivation hearing.

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, Emancipate NC, and Muslim Advocates filed a federal lawsuit on March 3, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on behalf of the protesters. The complaint alleged that UNC violated the protesters’ First Amendment rights to speech and assembly, Fourteenth Amendment due process rights, and Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful arrest and excessive force. Plaintiffs argued that the indefinite bans lacked adequate procedural safeguards and were imposed in response to protected protest activity.

On February 4, 2026, the district court granted partial preliminary relief, ordering UNC to identify all protest related campus bans and prohibiting enforcement of the indefinite bans against the named plaintiffs while the litigation continued. The court concluded that plaintiffs had shown a likelihood of success on claims that the restrictions lacked clear procedures for reinstatement and raised constitutional concerns because of their indefinite duration and connection to expressive activity.

UNC appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on May 4, 2026, arguing that sovereign immunity and other defenses required dismissal or limitation of portions of the case. The appeal challenged the district court’s decision allowing certain claims against university officials to proceed.

After UNC lifted or allowed the challenged campus bans to expire, plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their claims seeking prospective First Amendment relief on June 12, 2026, narrowing the case. The remaining claims continued, including allegations that UNC violated due process rights and that officials engaged in unlawful conduct during the April 30, 2024 encampment response.

On July 17, 2026, plaintiffs filed a brief opposing UNC’s sovereign immunity arguments before the Fourth Circuit, arguing that the appeal should not prevent their remaining constitutional claims from moving forward.