6th Circuit upholds Ohio funeral protest restrictions
Correction: We apologize. Our earlier post and the email digest incorrectly listed this as a 3rd circuit ruling.
The 6th Circuit has issued an opinion in Phelps-Roper v. Strickland, No. 07-3600 (6th Cir. 07-3700). It begins:
The SUHRHEINRICH, Circuit Judge. This case involves a facial challenge to a provision of Ohio Rev. Code § 3767.30 (“Funeral Protest Provision”), which prohibits “picketing” or “other protest activities,” within 300 feet of the funeral or burial service, from one hour before until one hour after the funeral or burial service. We hold that the Funeral Protest Provision is a reasonable, content-neutral regulation of the time, place, and manner of speech.
Eugene Volokh has this post on the Volokh Conspiracy that discusses the ruling.