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Court says two abortion protesters in DC can proceed with freedom of speech lawsuit
Court says two abortion protesters in DC can proceed with freedom of speech lawsuit
Luke Lukert | llukert@wtop.com
August 16, 2023, 1:08 PM
Two students were arrested in August of 2020 for writing an anti-abortion message on a sidewalk. Now, a federal court ruled a lower court was wrong for dismissing their lawsuit over First Amendment rights. ... Erica Caporaletti and Warner DePriest chalked “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” outside a Planned Parenthood in Northeast D.C. when they were cuffed by on police Aug. 1, 2020.
A lawsuit was filed that fall by the Frederick Douglass Foundation on behalf of the two protesters, alleging that their free speech rights and equal protection rights were violated. ... D.C.’s district court dismissed the lawsuit, concluding the foundation had failed to adequately allege discriminatory intent.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit heard arguments in late September of 2022, and while they agreed with the dismissal of the equal protection, they found that the suit had merit based on the First Amendment. ... Judge Neomi Rao wrote the opinion for the court, saying “the First Amendment prohibits the government from favoring some speakers over others. Access to public fora must be open to everyone and to every message on the same terms. The District may act to prevent the defacement of public property, but it cannot open up its streets and sidewalks to some viewpoints and not others.”
She pointed in the opinion to numerous messages written by Black Lives Matter protesters that same summer that saw no enforcement. ... “Over several weeks, the protesters covered streets, sidewalks, and storefronts with paint and chalk. The markings were ubiquitous and in open violation of the District’s defacement ordinance, yet none of the protesters were arrested,” she wrote. ... Ultimately the judges ruled 3-0 that the lawsuit may proceed with the opinion in mind. ... The D.C. government can now appeal the decision or take it to the Supreme Court.
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© 2023 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Luke Lukert
Since joining WTOP Luke Lukert has held just about every job in the newsroom from producer to web writer and now he works as a full-time reporter. He is an avid fan of UGA football. Go Dawgs!
llukert@wtop.com
Luke Lukert | llukert@wtop.com
August 16, 2023, 1:08 PM
Two students were arrested in August of 2020 for writing an anti-abortion message on a sidewalk. Now, a federal court ruled a lower court was wrong for dismissing their lawsuit over First Amendment rights. ... Erica Caporaletti and Warner DePriest chalked “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” outside a Planned Parenthood in Northeast D.C. when they were cuffed by on police Aug. 1, 2020.
A lawsuit was filed that fall by the Frederick Douglass Foundation on behalf of the two protesters, alleging that their free speech rights and equal protection rights were violated. ... D.C.’s district court dismissed the lawsuit, concluding the foundation had failed to adequately allege discriminatory intent.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit heard arguments in late September of 2022, and while they agreed with the dismissal of the equal protection, they found that the suit had merit based on the First Amendment. ... Judge Neomi Rao wrote the opinion for the court, saying “the First Amendment prohibits the government from favoring some speakers over others. Access to public fora must be open to everyone and to every message on the same terms. The District may act to prevent the defacement of public property, but it cannot open up its streets and sidewalks to some viewpoints and not others.”
She pointed in the opinion to numerous messages written by Black Lives Matter protesters that same summer that saw no enforcement. ... “Over several weeks, the protesters covered streets, sidewalks, and storefronts with paint and chalk. The markings were ubiquitous and in open violation of the District’s defacement ordinance, yet none of the protesters were arrested,” she wrote. ... Ultimately the judges ruled 3-0 that the lawsuit may proceed with the opinion in mind. ... The D.C. government can now appeal the decision or take it to the Supreme Court.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2023 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Luke Lukert
Since joining WTOP Luke Lukert has held just about every job in the newsroom from producer to web writer and now he works as a full-time reporter. He is an avid fan of UGA football. Go Dawgs!
llukert@wtop.com
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I had to check the WaPo article to see where the chalk was applied. It was on a public sidewalk. The WTOP article did not have an illustration making that clear.
SOCIAL ISSUES
Suit alleging D.C. violated antiabortion advocates’ rights can proceed, court rules
The case stems from the 2020 arrest of two protesters as they chalked “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” on the sidewalk outside a D.C. Planned Parenthood clinic
By Casey Parks
August 15, 2023 at 6:15 p.m. EDT
An antiabortion message was written in chalk in front of Planned Parenthood offices in D.C. on Aug. 1, 2020. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that a lower court was wrong to dismiss antiabortion advocates’ claims that the city violated their free speech rights when it arrested them for writing a slogan on a sidewalk in 2020. ... In August 2020, police arrested Erica Caporaletti, a 22-year-old student at Towson University, and Warner DePriest, a 29-year-old D.C. resident, who were writing “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” with chalk on the sidewalk outside a Planned Parenthood facility in Northeast Washington. It is illegal for people to write or mark on any public or private property without a permit.
With assistance from the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, the advocates sued the District that fall, arguing that the city had violated their rights to free speech and equal protection because it allowed others to paint “Defund the Police” and other messages on D.C. streets during Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Lawyers for Caporaletti and DePriest argued the city targeted them because of “the content of the message.”
A district court dismissed the lawsuit in 2021. On Tuesday, the appeals court ruled the advocates didn’t have an equal protection case but reversed the lower court’s ruling on First Amendment grounds, allowing the lawsuit to move forward.
“The First Amendment prohibits the government from favoring some speakers over others. Access to public fora must be open to everyone and to every message on the same terms. The District may act to prevent the defacement of public property, but it cannot open up its streets and sidewalks to some viewpoints and not others,” Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump nominee, argued in the opinion. Judge Robert L. Wilkins, an Obama nominee, wrote a concurring opinion.
{snip}
By Casey Parks
Casey Parks is a reporter on The Washington Post's social issues team. Twitter https://twitter.com/caseyparks
Suit alleging D.C. violated antiabortion advocates’ rights can proceed, court rules
The case stems from the 2020 arrest of two protesters as they chalked “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” on the sidewalk outside a D.C. Planned Parenthood clinic
By Casey Parks
August 15, 2023 at 6:15 p.m. EDT
An antiabortion message was written in chalk in front of Planned Parenthood offices in D.C. on Aug. 1, 2020. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that a lower court was wrong to dismiss antiabortion advocates’ claims that the city violated their free speech rights when it arrested them for writing a slogan on a sidewalk in 2020. ... In August 2020, police arrested Erica Caporaletti, a 22-year-old student at Towson University, and Warner DePriest, a 29-year-old D.C. resident, who were writing “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” with chalk on the sidewalk outside a Planned Parenthood facility in Northeast Washington. It is illegal for people to write or mark on any public or private property without a permit.
With assistance from the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, the advocates sued the District that fall, arguing that the city had violated their rights to free speech and equal protection because it allowed others to paint “Defund the Police” and other messages on D.C. streets during Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Lawyers for Caporaletti and DePriest argued the city targeted them because of “the content of the message.”
A district court dismissed the lawsuit in 2021. On Tuesday, the appeals court ruled the advocates didn’t have an equal protection case but reversed the lower court’s ruling on First Amendment grounds, allowing the lawsuit to move forward.
“The First Amendment prohibits the government from favoring some speakers over others. Access to public fora must be open to everyone and to every message on the same terms. The District may act to prevent the defacement of public property, but it cannot open up its streets and sidewalks to some viewpoints and not others,” Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump nominee, argued in the opinion. Judge Robert L. Wilkins, an Obama nominee, wrote a concurring opinion.
{snip}
By Casey Parks
Casey Parks is a reporter on The Washington Post's social issues team. Twitter https://twitter.com/caseyparks