Update on USC Deferred Recruitment Case

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com

The June 2018 issue of Fraternal Law reported that five of the Greek Chapters at the University of Southern California filed suit in state court challenging the University’s imposition of deferred recruitment. The lawsuit relied on California’s unique Leonard Law, which prohibits a private university from making or enforcing “a rule subjecting a student to disciplinary sanctions solely on the basis of conduct that is speech.”

On August 23rd, Superior Court Judge Patricia Nieto turned down that effort denying a preliminary injunction. Importantly, the Court found that the plaintiffs did have standing to bring their claims, a critical first step. However, the Court states in its “[Tentative] Ruling” that plaintiffs “simply have not shown that the policy was created as a disciplinary sanction against any sorority or fraternity for failure to abide by university policy or against any individual student for violating the standard and policies established for fraternities and sororities.” What the court ignores is not that the policy was adopted as discipline, but if students and their organizations choose to recruit students in violation of the deferred recruitment policy, they are subject to discipline. It is that violation of the Leonard Law which the lawsuit sought a court order to prohibit.¹ We will continue to provide updates as this case progresses.

1 Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, et al. v. University of Southern California, et al., Case No. BC711155, Sup. Ct. of