Fired University of Mississippi employee Lauren Stokes’ withdrew her subpoena for Chancellor Glenn Boyce to testify this week in her wrongful termination lawsuit, ending the case’s preliminary hearing.
The case is ongoing as U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson reviews evidence and legal arguments to rule on the motion for a preliminary injunction Stokes filed on Nov. 7, 2025, and the motion for dismissal Boyce filed on Dec. 10, 2025.
Stokes, who had previously served as an executive assistant to the vice chancellor for development at the university, alleged that Boyce violated the First Amendment in firing her for commentary that she reposted on her private social media account on Sept. 10 that condemned the beliefs of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed at Utah Valley University earlier that day. She filed her lawsuit against Boyce on Oct. 21, 2025.
Boyce did not appear at the preliminary hearing on Feb. 13, despite filing a motion on Dec. 22, 2025, to continue the hearing on that date. Defense attorney J. Cal Mayo argued at the hearing that Boyce had no obligation to appear because he had not been subpoenaed by the plaintiff.
The court was set to reconvene on Friday, Feb. 20 at 10 a.m. Boyce was expected to be present before Stokes withdrew her subpoena.
Plaintiff attorney Allyson Mills rested her case on Feb. 13 with the exception of having the right to question Boyce as a witness on Feb. 20. Stokes withdrew her subpoena of Boyce for Feb. 20, however, to not inconvenience the court by “reopening the hearing unnecessarily,” according to Stokes’ response to Boyce’s motion to quash the subpoena on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Mills stated in Stokes’ response that the university has not produced any of the emails, telephone calls or other items referenced in the defense’s declaration.
“The university says it withheld records on the general basis that they are privileged or exempt from disclosure, but it did not say how many records it withheld and it did not describe what it withheld,” Stokes’ response said
