MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A federal judge in Memphis is set to hear arguments at 1 p.m. Monday on whether the Memphis City Council can keep enforcing bans that bar several outspoken residents, among them state Rep. Justin Pearson, from its meetings.
Six people, Pearson included, filed suit in federal court in West Tennessee and asked for a temporary restraining order. Five of them were banned after the council’s Oct. 6 session, when protests broke out over a delayed vote on regulating data centers. The plaintiffs want the bans lifted before the council meets again on Tuesday, Oct. 20, when a proposed moratorium on AI data centers is expected to come up.
Student lawyers from a First Amendment clinic at Vanderbilt Law School, funded by the Stanton Foundation, brought the case. They are suing three parties: the council as a body, the city government, and Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington in her role as council leader.
Beyond the bans, the suit goes after the council’s speech restriction policy itself. It argues the rules forbid loosely defined categories such as gossip, abusive or vulgar remarks and personal attacks, leaving officials wide discretion to silence critics while allowing praise of the council. In a weekend filing, the plaintiffs said the bans were applied selectively, noting that more than 400 people attended the Oct. 6 meeting, and that their speech is shielded by the First Amendment.
Memphis runs on a strong-mayor system, with Mayor Paul Young leading the executive side and a 13-member City Council handling legislation. The ruling on the restraining order could decide who is allowed in the chamber when the data center question returns on Tuesday.
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Filed under: Memphis TN Politics News
