|
|
NJ Civil Defense Fund v. Union County Parks
|
Ed Barocas/ACLU-NJ
The ACLU-NJ successfully advocated for the right of the New Jersey Civil Defense Fund to hold a May Day rally within the Union County Parks System. The Union County Parks System initially approved a permit for the organization but with the following conditions: (1) $1,000,000 insurance policy requirement, (2) $5,000 clean-up bond, (3) $1,000 for police overtime and (4) the sound system cannot project beyond 25 feet. The organization could not afford the monetary requirements so wouldn't have been able to hold the rally if the conditions were not waived. The ACLU-NJ explained that the monetary requirements essentially removed poor persons and organizations from the right to engage in free speech, and threatened to file a lawsuit. On the eve of our filing a lawsuit, the government capitulated. The Union County Parks System agreed to waive the insurance requirement, waive the clean-up bond, charge for only one officer, and allowed a sound system that would reach the entirety of the organization's intended audience.
|
|
|
