ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
June 7, 2007 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020

5th Circuit ruling remedies lower court decision
stifling pro-life expression, remands case for trial

MONROE, La. — On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit remanded back to the lower court a case involving the police punishing the use of pro-life signs in the town of Columbia.

“Pro-life speech is not second-class speech,” said ADF-allied attorney Randall Wenger, who represents the World Wide Street Preachers’ Fellowship, a ministry organization. “We are pleased that the court recognized that the First Amendment rights of pro-life citizens are threatened by the actions of Columbia officials.”

In February 2005, the town of Columbia assistant chief of police arrested Allen Russell and threatened to arrest four other pro-life advocates standing on public property and holding signs depicting aborted children. Local police had previously expressed their displeasure with their actions, but did not arrest them. Russell was cited and subsequently jailed for two days.

In March 2005, Wenger filed suit on behalf of the WWSPF in federal court, citing a violation of members’ First Amendment right to free expression. He later won a temporary restraining order against town officials, prohibiting them “from interfering with Plaintiff’s First Amendment activities of displaying anti-abortion signs” until a hearing could be held (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3377). In May of the same year, he won a partial preliminary injunction (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3419).

A copy of the decision issued today in World Wide Street Preachers’ Fellowship, et al, v. Town of Columbia can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/WWSPFDecision.pdf.

“Engaging in content-based discrimination in a public forum is unconstitutional,” Wenger said. “Government officials cannot be permitted to continue chilling the speech of WWSPF simply because they do not agree with the pro-life message expressed.”

ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.

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