ADF attorneys appeal N.C. pro-life advocate’s free speech case
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4488
** NOTE: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION HAS BEEN ADDED TO THIS NEWS RELEASE, ORIGINALLY DISTRIBUTED EARLIER TODAY. **
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
April 30, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
ADF attorneys appeal
N.C. pro-life advocate’s free speech case
“Christians shouldn’t be discriminated against for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum. “Raleigh officials clearly violated Mr. Green’s First Amendment right to publicly express his pro-life views.”
On Aug. 23, 2003, Raleigh police officers threatened Dennis Green and other pro-life advocates with arrest for not adhering to the city’s so-called “permit process.” Green, who was peacefully communicating his message on a public right-of-way, was also informed that a sign he was holding would be confiscated if he did not leave the area.
In 2005, ADF attorneys filed suit on behalf of Green and then filed a federal appeal in the case in 2007 (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4076). A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled against Green on April 16, but ADF attorneys are asking either the panel or the full court to rehear the case because of key factual and legal matters the panel overlooked in its decision.
“The government can’t require citizens to request permission before they exercise their First Amendment rights,” said Kellum. “The policy used by Raleigh officials to silence pro-life speech is clearly unconstitutional. The panel’s decision stands in direct conflict with other 4th Circuit decisions, the decisions of other federal circuits, and even the U.S. Supreme Court.”
A copy of the en banc appeal and petition for panel re-hearing filed with the 4th Circuit in Green v. City of Raleigh is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/GreenEnBanc.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.