------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the July 24, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
PHILADELPHIA: LAWSUIT WINS FREE SPECH RIGHTS By Betsey Piette Philadelphia A lawsuit has resulted in a major free speech victory for political activists who seek to protest in this city. On the eve of trial, which was scheduled for July 7, the City of Philadelphia agreed that it would no longer use a discretionary scheme for granting demonstration permits, which was successfully challenged as unconstitutional. The case, International Action Center v. City of Philadelphia, et al., was litigated by the Partnership for Civil Justice and the National Lawyers Guild. Philadelphia officials agreed to a court order in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania not to use city regulations to dissuade members of political groups and causes from holding public demonstrations. "This is a victory for the activist community in Philadelphia and protects and promotes the rights of anyone who wants to demonstrate in Philadelphia in the future," stated Joseph Traub, National Law yers Guild attorney who was a co-counsel on the litigation. Over the years in this city, the so-called "cradle of democracy," protesters often found it difficult to get city permits to demonstrate or march. They were made to file for them under the city's "special events policy," which required demonstrators to have insurance coverage to hold a rally. Demonstrators were told that requests not filed months in advance could be denied. If the city didn't like their cause, it simply refused to issue a permit, hoping the demonstrators would give up. "For too long, activists seeking to exercise their fundamental First Amendment rights in Philadelphia have been obstructed and denied those rights. The city has used unfettered discretion to grant use of the people's parks and streets to favored permittees, like the Republican National Convention, and either denied permits to those who challenge government policies or tried to broker inadequate and unequal access to public space," explained Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-founder of the Partnership for Civil Justice, who litigated the case. "This victory for people's rights came about because attorneys and activists initiated a struggle in the courts and in the streets against the illegal abrogation of free speech rights. This unconstitutional permitting process had festered in Philadelphia for years. The time was long overdue for the system to be taken down," she added. This significant free-speech lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of organizers of a two-day vigil in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal at City Hall in May 2001. They had been told that their permit application was rejected. In cases like this, city officials tried to rigidly enforce every provision of the special events policy, but liberally interpreted the same policy when they dealt with GOP groups using the same city plaza during the Republican National Convention. After an emergency hearing had resulted in a court order, which required the city to grant the permit and allowed the demonstration to go forward, free speech advocates pursued the case in order to strike down Philadelphia's illegal permitting scheme. They also successfully challenged a city curfew against minors participating in gatherings or demonstrations protected by the First Amendment that went beyond 11 p.m. The Partnership for Civil Justice is a public interest law firm based in Wash-ington, D.C., that litigates civil rights and constitutional rights cases, many on behalf of political activists for social justice. Founded in 1937 as the nation's first racially integrated association of attorneys, the National Lawyers Guild brings together lawyers, law students, legal workers and jailhouse lawyers to function as an effective political and social force to put human rights above property rights. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe wwnews- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
