San Clemente plans for Supreme Court in free speech case court, san, city - News - The Orange County Register:
"Handbills under windshield wipers count as litter, not free speech, San Clemente officials say, and they plan to go to the Supreme Court to prove it."
A group opposed to illegal immigration recently sued the city over its ban on leafleting parked cars.
At first, the Central District Court of California sided with the city. Then in early October, 9th Circuit Court judges disagreed on appeal and put an injunction on San Clemente's law.
Now the city has begun the process to petition the Supreme Court for an appeal, which it plans to file as early as next month.
"The City Council is asking themselves, 'What are we to tell the citizens if we just eliminate our anti-littering ordinance because we don't want to be accused of violating someone's First Amendment right?'" said Ed Richards, San Clemente's attorney. "The city gets people complaining about litter all the time. It can't just abdicate its responsibility. It has to deal with this issue."
The case affects all cities in California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii and Washington that have a similar law. On Monday, dominoes may start to fall. The Los Angeles Central District Court is scheduled to apply the injunction then, and once that happens, it becomes unconstitutional for cities in the 9th Circuit to carry out the law.
Some cities are already on the defense. One nearby city's attorney has recommended that the law be taken off the books. Other Orange County cities such as San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Woods have similar laws but have not made a decision on what they plan to do about this sticky situation.
There's another sticky factor: money.
"Handbills under windshield wipers count as litter, not free speech, San Clemente officials say, and they plan to go to the Supreme Court to prove it."
A group opposed to illegal immigration recently sued the city over its ban on leafleting parked cars.
At first, the Central District Court of California sided with the city. Then in early October, 9th Circuit Court judges disagreed on appeal and put an injunction on San Clemente's law.
Now the city has begun the process to petition the Supreme Court for an appeal, which it plans to file as early as next month.
"The City Council is asking themselves, 'What are we to tell the citizens if we just eliminate our anti-littering ordinance because we don't want to be accused of violating someone's First Amendment right?'" said Ed Richards, San Clemente's attorney. "The city gets people complaining about litter all the time. It can't just abdicate its responsibility. It has to deal with this issue."
The case affects all cities in California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii and Washington that have a similar law. On Monday, dominoes may start to fall. The Los Angeles Central District Court is scheduled to apply the injunction then, and once that happens, it becomes unconstitutional for cities in the 9th Circuit to carry out the law.
Some cities are already on the defense. One nearby city's attorney has recommended that the law be taken off the books. Other Orange County cities such as San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Woods have similar laws but have not made a decision on what they plan to do about this sticky situation.
There's another sticky factor: money.
