ACLJ
Secures First Amendment Victory for Kansas City Prolife Supporters Arrested
for Displaying 'Offensive' Signs
November 30, 2001
(Kansas City, MO) – The American Center for Law and Justice, an international
public interest law firm, announced today that a Missouri state court
has dismissed charges against five pro-life demonstrators who were arrested
in June for displaying pro-life signs at an intersection in Kansas City,
Missouri.
“This is an important victory for our clients and for the First Amendment,”
said Francis J. Manion, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ who represented the
five demonstrators. “To arrest citizens peacefully exercising their
First Amendment rights is illegal and outrageous. This was a classic case
of government overstepping the boundaries setup by our constitution. The
law is clear: speech cannot be punished or suppressed simply because those
who are exposed to it find the speech ‘offensive.’ The decision
to dismiss the charges was the proper decision and represents an important
victory for ensuring equal access to the public square for the pro-life
message.”
Five men
– Eugene Frey, Gary Rickman, Anthony Leake, Lowell Hale, and Richard
Schilling – were arrested June 23, 2001 by the Kansas City police
after they refused to remove pro-life signs that police called “offensive”
and “graphic.” The men were standing in a public area and
were not interfering with or impeding traffic. Police told them to remove
the signs after a passing motorist complained about the content of the
signs. The men refused to remove the signs and told police they had
a constitutional right to display the pro-life messages. Police then
handcuffed and arrested them and charged them with loitering under a
city ordinance.
The ACLJ
filed a motion to dismiss the charges and following a hearing in Kansas
City Municipal Court yesterday, all charges against the men were dismissed.
Even the city’s prosecuting attorney agreed that the cases against
the men had no merit and should be dismissed.
The ACLJ
is also concerned because the record in the case indicates that the
decision to arrest the men was made after consultation with the Kansas
City police department’s legal advisor. Manion said the ACLJ is
considering filing a civil lawsuit against the city to prevent similar
incidents from happening in the future.
Manion said:
“We can’t let government officials get away with treating
pro-life supporters as second-class citizens and suppressing their rights
on legally flawed grounds. The ACLJ is committed to protecting the pro-life
message.”
The ACLJ
was assisted in this case by Kansas City attorney Todd Nielsen.
The American
Center for Law and Justice is an international public interest law firm
based in Virginia Beach, VA. The ACLJ web site address is www.aclj.org.
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