If a joint proposal for expedited court proceedings is approved, parties in The Daily’s lawsuit against the Trump administration could deliver final arguments as soon as May 6.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) filed the lawsuit on behalf of The Daily and two noncitizens unaffiliated with The Daily on Aug. 6, alleging that the Trump administration’s policies had caused a chilling effect on international students’ contributions to campus publications. The suit contends that international students fear retaliatory measures, such as the loss of their visas, if they write about political subjects.

In a March 6 scheduling proposal, both parties moved to skip summary judgment — in which the court may resolve a case if it determines that the facts are not in dispute — and conduct a trial “on the papers.” If the judge approves the parties’ proposal, the case would be decided solely on the basis of existing written records submitted in advance. 

This proposed method of conducting the trial would allow the judge in the case to make factual determinations and decide the ultimate legal issues in the case. If the motion is approved, each side would file written arguments with additional evidence by April 9 and respond to the other’s brief by April 23.

The proposal comes after the government unsuccessfully attempted to dismiss the suit with a Dec. 12 motion. In a Jan. 16 decision, U.S. District Judge Noël Wise denied the government’s request, which claimed the plaintiffs’ argument “lacked standing.”

A Letter from the Editors published in The Daily on Aug. 7 notes that the Trump administration’s immigration policies negatively impacted international students’ participation in the paper, as both staff members and sources.

“As an independent student paper whose mission is to represent the voices of the Stanford community, this fear of the government directly impacts the quality of our work,” former Daily editors Lauren Koong ’26, Ananya Udaygiri ’26 and Greta Reich ’26 wrote in the letter.