uci is now at the center of a pending jury showdown after an Orange County Superior Court judge declined to dismiss protest-related charges against three defendants. The ruling, made on Thursday, March 12, keeps misdemeanor failure-to-disperse counts in place for Adel Shaker Hijazi, Malik Alrefai, and Jacob Andrew Hernandez tied to a May 15, 2024, pro-Palestinian encampment at UC Irvine. The judge signaled the core dispute will be decided by jurors: whether law enforcement’s actions on the campus were constitutional.
Judge declines dismissal, pushing constitution questions to a jury
Orange County Superior Court Judge Eric Scarbrough did not rule on the underlying constitutional argument raised by defense attorneys. Instead, Scarbrough said the challenge to the dispersal order would likely be the heart of the trial and should be decided by a jury, not resolved by the court at the dismissal stage.
The three defendants—Adel Shaker Hijazi, 41; Malik Alrefai, 25; and Jacob Andrew Hernandez, 33—are scheduled for trial next week on misdemeanor charges of failing to follow a police order to leave the protest.
Defense attorneys have argued the police order to disperse from the campus encampment on May 15, 2024, was not a lawful response to violence or imminent danger, but rather an effort by law enforcement and UCI leaders to shut down protesters’ First Amendment rights.
How the May 15 encampment crackdown unfolded at uci
The demonstration involved a makeshift encampment that stood for two weeks beginning in late April 2024. Protesters sought to pressure the university to divest from companies and institutions with ties to Israel and weapons manufacturers, support an end to the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, and reinvest funds toward students and workers, among other demands.
By the afternoon of May 15, the crowd had swelled to about 500 people. Officers in riot gear from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies swept through the crowd after reports that a small group had barricaded itself into the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall, adjacent to the encampment.
UCI leaders argued they had exhausted all possible alternatives before turning to police intervention. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, whose office filed the charges, said at the time that “criminal activity (that) transcends peaceful assembly will not be tolerated. ”
Immediate reactions from attorneys and prosecutors in court
During Thursday’s hearing in a Santa Ana courtroom, Alternate Defender James Henshaw, attorney for Malik Alrefai, called the dispersal order a “sham” used to violate protesters’ First Amendment rights. Henshaw told the court there was no violence and no threat of imminent violence, and he pointed to the time gap between the first dispersal order and the arrests, saying police waited around 2½ hours.
“They didn’t like the cause; they didn’t like the attention, ” Henshaw said. “The police and UCI administrators wanted to shut this down. ”
Deputy District Attorney Matthew Bradbury told the judge there was evidence of violence or potential violence that led officers to issue the dispersal order.
Quick context on the wider case load
About 50 people were charged in connection with the same UC Irvine protest, most accused of misdemeanor failure to disperse when ordered by police. More than 40 defendants have already resolved their cases, with most agreeing to participate in a diversion program rather than face a conviction or jail time.
What’s next as uci cases move toward trial
The three remaining defendants referenced in the hearing are slated for trial next week, where the constitutionality of the dispersal order is expected to be a central issue for jurors to weigh. With a judge leaving those questions for trial, the next courtroom steps at uci will hinge on how evidence and testimony frame the line between protected protest activity and the circumstances law enforcement cited for clearing the encampment.
