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Today's Poll!Questions arise over ban of petitioners from festival district
The "Tom & Dan Show" band performs on stage as a crowd fills High Street from Jefferson to Monroe Street for a "Thursday Night Live" event in June. Questions are being raised of Jefferson City officials about the ability of organizers to prohibit citizens from engaging in petitioning or political activities within the festival districts created for such events. Photo by Deborah Cote.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Did organizers of Thursday Night Live run afoul of the U.S. Constitution by disallowing pro-life and pro-choice petitioners within a recently created festival district?
The attorney for Jefferson City fears the ban may violate the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
The president of the Downtown Business Association, which secured the festival district permit, said his understanding was the permit granted the authority to prohibit petitioners.
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Comments
JCLifer 1 year, 10 months ago
Freedom of speech is OK as long as the town fathers approve it.
JCLifer 1 year, 10 months ago
Doesn't look too much like a private street or private property to me. The sidewalks were paid for by the taxpayers too.
TraceyT 1 year, 10 months ago
How about we set aside half a block for protestors and petitioners? That way everyone that wants to protest can do so, everyone that wants to listen to protestors can do so, and everyone else is free to easily avoid/ignore the protestors.
tonto 1 year, 10 months ago
The attorney for the city is correct - the issue has already been decided by the courts. You can't make a public place private by passing an ordinance and signing a contract with a corporation.
bluesfan13 1 year, 10 months ago
By that same argument though, if I rent a park pavilion for an event, can I or can I not exclude petitioners?
tonto 1 year, 10 months ago
If you rent a park pavilion you're probably having a family reunion or a church picnic. You are not holding an event open to the public then, are you?
melbrooks 1 year, 10 months ago
Most church picnics would be a failure without them being open to the public.
tonto 1 year, 10 months ago
Graceful, it's the Columbia airport case.
The military air show people tried to keep the Peace Nook people off the airport grounds. The courts noted the "entanglement" of government with the supposedly separate corporation and stated that a public place is still a public place.
I doubt if the courts would find that trying to keep "all" protestors out in JC is any different from trying to keep "some" protestors out in Columbia. That argument seems childish but someone is sure to try and spend some taxpayer money on it.
tonto 1 year, 10 months ago
Graceful, you should know this kind of thing. It's what allows protesters you agree with to parade and picket, but it allows protesters you don't agree with to do the same.
It was a federal court case so you can't find it in the Missouri Courts website. The stuff I have cut and pasted for you below comes secondhand from a reference called the Municipal Litigation Reporter. If you have access to WestLaw or LexisNexis you can get the whole text of all the decisions, arguments, briefs, etc. I don't either.
Here it is:
"The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an injunction against a nonprofit corporation preventing it from prohibiting anti-war protests during a Memorial Day air show at a municipal airport.
Anti-war protesters Bill Wickersham and Maureen Doyle brought a 42 U.S.C. §1983 action against the city of Columbia, Mo., and a nonprofit corporation known as the Memorial Day Weekend Salute to Veterans Corp. (Salute), seeking an injunction that would permit them to engage in expressive activities at Salute's Memorial Day air show at the municipal airport. The district court concluded that enforcement of the air show rules, which was carried out by city police on behalf of Salute, violated the First Amendment.
The district court issued a permanent injunction against the city and Salute requiring them to permit certain expressive activities at the annual event. Salute appealed, arguing it was not liable as a state actor for its speech restrictions and that the injunction violated its own First Amendment right to be free from compelled speech.
Speech restrictions involved state action on part of nonprofit. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment. The speech restrictions imposed at the air show involved state action on the part of Salute because it was consistently entangled with the city in effectuating them. Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion in fashioning the permanent injunction requiring Salute and the city to permit certain expressive activities at this public event.
The Eighth Circuit also found Salute failed to show that its own First Amendment rights were violated by the injunction. The injunction protected Salute's daily noontime ceremony in honor and remembrance of veterans from any competing expressive activities, giving Salute complete control over the message that it wanted to communicate during this special event.
Wickersham v. Columbia, Mo., No. 06-1922 (8th Cir. Mar. 22, 2007)"
The US Supreme Court declined to hear "Salute to Veterans" appeal from the US Court of Appeals affirmation of the US Dictrict Court decision. Note that "Salute to Veterans" tried all the logical arguments that would support their desire to keep the event to themselves but opening the event to the public makes those desires impossible under the US Constitution. At least, that is what the US courts said.
tonto 1 year, 10 months ago
"Reasonable" restrictions would not include a complete prohibition which was the Downtown Business Association approach. I think that makes the situations substantially similar since the court's decision was rather broadly worded. In addition, the courts specifically said Salute could not prohibit protests.
I do not know the extent of JCPD involvement in this event but even without JCPD involvement, government can not do something indirectly or by proxy that they can not do directly. The specifics may not matter. It would be difficult and expensive to win that case but some really good lawyers might have a chance.
JMO 1 year, 10 months ago
Renting a building or place is a different matter; it gives you exclusive possession of the property during the lease term. Properly rented, even the landlord can't kick you out unless you've violated the lease. In my opinion that would apply even if you rent from a public entity, but I don't pretend to be up on government landlord/tenant law. You can rent a pavilion, but you can't rent the park. Thus, you can keep picketers out of the pavilion, but they can stand right next to it.
The downtown festivals are not private, even if a private corporation puts them on. The general public is invited - and that includes the picketers.
gofish 1 year, 10 months ago
I think the pro-lifers and pro-choice groups need to have enough common sense to promote their cause at more appropriate venues. Honestly, neither group has influenced my stance on the topic. I wish they knew they were both wasting their time.
Maybe the city can invite Westboro Baptist to join the fracus. There are still laws that govern public nuisances, disturbing the peace, and harrassment. The existing laws need to be enforced during public events by anyone attending.
Gotigers 1 year, 10 months ago
Why do these 'nut job groups' have to ruin a good time for everyone else?
For one evening can't we sit back and enjoy our neighbors, music and a cold beverage without being reminded how messed up the world is becoming?
I'm sick of these groups--Get a life!
asb 1 year, 10 months ago
As long as they're peaceful the city cannot ban them.
NoMoBigBro 1 year, 10 months ago
Uh, it's a "festival district" not a "protest district"! Sheesh, what were they there to protest the band or the people just wanting to relax and have a good time! I'm sure they could have jauntied down to the capitol and both groups could have stood there and yelled at each other quite effectively.
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