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For Immediate Release
May 15, 2003
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) filed a free speech lawsuit today against the City of Pleasantville on behalf of the Coalition for Peace & Justice, a citizen group that was barred from holding protests against U.S. bombing in Afghanistan in October 2001.
“Freedom of speech is a founding American ideal, it’s what makes our country great,” said Norman Cohen, President of the Coalition. “We have a right to express ourselves, even if what we say is critical of the government.”
The Coalition for Peace & Justice, an advocacy organization that promotes non-violent solutions to national and international problems, was originally prohibited from conducting a vigil in October 2001 and, again, in December 2001, under a prior Pleasantville ordinance.
In response to ACLU pressure, Pleasantville revised its speech ordinance. However, the new ordinance maintained many of the same unconstitutional restrictions that were present in the original, the ACLU said in legal papers. The ordinance will now face judicial review, which the Coalition for Peace & Justice hopes will clear the way for them to conduct their free speech activities again this summer.
“We simply wish to convey to others our beliefs about peace and non-violence,” said Cohen. “But Pleasantville has placed us in a position of either being subject to onerous restrictions and financial payments we can’t afford, risk being arrested, or remaining silent. We can’t accept any of those options.”
The City of Pleasantville’s ordinance limits the right of groups to hold peaceful vigils or marches on public sidewalks. The ACLU lawsuit charges that the ordinance violates both the United States and New Jersey Constitutions by unnecessarily placing restrictions and improper financial requirements on those who exercise their free speech rights.
Specifically, the ordinance requires “speech permits” for even small groups such as the Coalition, requires a 30-day notice period, mandates disclosure of speakers’ identities and requires individuals to sign hold-harmless agreements indemnifying the city and to pay for
insurance. Individuals who speak without a permit are subject to criminal penalties. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the ordinance unconstitutional and to order Pleasantville to stop enforcing it.
“The members of the Coalition have a particular viewpoint on an important political and social issue, and the Constitution gives them the right to present that message to the public, without needing to seek government approval or to pay for the right to do so” said Frank L. Corrado, of the Wildwood firm Barry, Corrado, Grassi & Gibson, PC who represents the Coalition on behalf of the ACLU-NJ.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden, and is captioned Coalition for Peace and Justice. v. City of Pleasantville.
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