Last week, in a case we previously covered here, a federal district court in Colorado considered whether plaintiffs have standing to seek permanent injunctive relief when the defendant has stipulated that it has no intention of enforcing a restriction on expressive conduct.
In Verlo v. City and County of Denver, plaintiffs desired to distribute leaflets regarding jury nullification in the plaza outside of Denver’s Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse. However, the Colorado Second Judicial District, which operates in the courthouse, issued an order essentially prohibiting all expressive activities in the courthouse plaza. The City and County of Denver, the entity responsible for enforcing the order, stipulated that it would not do so. Furthermore, the city stipulated that it would not interfere with plaintiffs’ peaceful distribution of leaflets in the plaza. Notwithstanding the stipulation, plaintiffs sued the city and the Colorado Second Judicial District, claiming that the order was an unconstitutional restriction on their First Amendment rights. In an earlier decision, the federal district court granted plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction, barring enforcement of the order.
Continue Reading Denver Courthouse Case Continued: Plaintiffs Lack Standing
For those wading through the sign regulation muddle post Reed v. Town of Gilbert, check out my latest article in The Urban Lawyer, Sign Regulation After Reed: Suggestions for Coping with Legal Uncertainty. Co-authored with Professor Alan Weinstein of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, the article provides practical advice to local government planners
The Hitching Post in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
In an opinion issued last week, a federal district court in Idaho found that a wedding services business, Hitching Post, which refused to officiate same-sex marriages on religious grounds, did not have standing to challenge an ordinance that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Continue Reading Wedding Business Loses First Amendment Challenge to Local Antidiscrimination Law
The KKK is trying to adopt more highways, this time in Georgia.
More on Apple’s possible First Amendment defense to the federal government’s attempts to unlock Apple devices.
A New Hampshire business is proudly displaying its opinions about some of its statewide elected officials, although some local residents are offended by the messaging.
The Town of Orleans, Massachusetts is considering an ordinance that would set standards for civility, but which is raising some First Amendment concerns.
Cape Girardeau, Missouri’s prohibition on “yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing” was struck down by a federal judge.