A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a progressive group against the top two Republicans at the Arizona Legislature, who banned activists from entering the House and Senate earlier this year.
Several members of Living United for Change in Arizona, or LUCHA, were banned from the Arizona House and Senate this year after vocally opposing Republican immigration bills.
The group filed a lawsuit against Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) and House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear), arguing the ban violated LUCHA members’ constitutional rights, including free speech protections and the right to due process.
Federal Judge Susan Brnovich dismissed the lawsuit on Wednesday, though she did not actually address whether the legislative leaders violated activists’ rights. Instead, Brnovich found the lawsuit could not move forward because the ban in question is no longer in effect.
According to the ruling, the ban only applied to that legislative session, which began in January and ended in June.
“Plaintiffs claim that the ban was unconstitutional. However, because the ban has since expired, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ claims for injunctive, declaratory, or other prospective remedies are now moot,” Brnovich wrote.
Spokespersons for the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate confirmed that LUCHA members are no longer banned and are again able to enter the buildings.
“All visitors who abide by the rules are welcome at the state House,” House spokesman Andrew Wilder said.
In court filings, the group’s attorneys argued the House and Senate may institute new bans next year to block similar activity.
“Defendants, on the contrary, provide no evidence that any policy change has been undertaken to prevent this action from recurring. This is, in part, because no such policy is known to exist,” according to a court filing.
Background
LUCHA has frequently run afoul of the Republican lawmakers who control the both chambers at the state Legislature by vocally opposing legislation, shouting down lawmakers and conducting marches and protests around the Capitol.
Prior to the ban earlier this year, members attended multiple hearings at the Arizona Legislature to oppose Republican immigration bills.
During one Senate committee meeting in February, some members stood and began chanting “No justice, no peace, no ICE on our streets,” during a hearing on a bill that would have made it a crime to warn others in a neighborhood about the presence of law enforcement, including immigration officers.
That came after Sen. Wendy Rogers, the committee chair and Flagstaff Republican, attempted to silence a speaker opposing the bill.
The chants prompted Republican lawmakers to retreat from the hearing.
A few days later, Senate security staff blocked several LUCHA members from attending a meeting on SB 1570, which would have required county recorders and boards of supervisors to sign agreements with “a federal immigration law enforcement agency to provide for a federal immigration law enforcement presence” at voting locations and ballot drop boxes.
According to the lawsuit, over the course of February, several members of LUCHA were blocked from entering the Arizona Senate and handed unaddressed notes notifying them they were trespassed from the building for the rest of the session.
A House security agent blocked one LUCHA member from entering that building during the same time frame.
“They don’t want us here, because we’re brown, and we keep showing up with community members to speak up against all of these injustices, all of these bills that would create further harm in our community,” Gina Mendez, one of the plaintiffs in the case, told KJZZ after she was blocked from entering the SB 1570 hearing on Feb. 20.
What’s next
Brnovich’s dismissal doesn’t necessarily end the litigation.
LUCHA indicated it could amend its lawsuit over concerns that a new ban will be implemented in the future as retaliation for similar conduct, which the group argues is protected by the U.S. Constitution.
“As Plaintiffs have shown that Defendants’ actions are likely to recur, an amendment could present additional facts curing the alleged deficiency in the Complaint,” its attorneys wrote.
Brnovich gave LUCHA permission to amend the complaint.
"Yesterday's ruling did not address the central question in our lawsuit: whether legislative leaders violated the constitutional rights of LUCHA members when they barred them from the Capitol for speaking out against harmful legislation," LUCHA said in a statement. "The case was dismissed because the ban expired with the end of the legislative session, not because the underlying conduct was found lawful."
The organization said it is reviewing its options, including amending the complaint or reaching an agreement with legislative leaders to avoid similar bans in the future.
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