Articles Posted in Constitutional Violation

Published on:

Recently, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the District Court determination that the City of Kingston had the right to prohibit the public from displaying signs at a City Council meeting and that such restriction did not, as claimed by the Plaintiffs, violate their First Amendment rights. In the case of Tyler v. City of Kingston, the Court held:”[t]he district court concluded that Plaintiffs had not adequately alleged that the City’s sign prohibition was unreasonable in light of the potential disruption or distraction that signs at Common Council meetings might pose. We AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.”

The Plaintiffs are nine citizens of the City who are active regarding various community issues. The City proposed to purchase an armored  rescue vehicle. The Plaintiffs intended to protest the proposal by appearing in City Hall at the Council meeting. They intended to carry large signs objecting to the proposed action. Several days before the scheduled hearing the City had adopted a rule prohibiting the carrying of signs in City Hall, where the hearing was scheduled to take place.

Continue reading →

Published on:

On May 2. 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the refusal of the City of Boston to permit the flying of a Christian flag, on a flag pole located at Boston’s City Hall Plaza. In Shurtleff v City of Boston Massachusetts, the Court ruled that the City had violated the First Amendment right of free speech in denying permission to fly the flag at issue.

The Boston City Hall Plaza has been used for various public events and the City has acknowledged the space is a “public forum”. The Plaza contains three flag poles, one flying the American Flag, one flying the flag of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the third either flying the Boston Flag or, with permission from the City, the flag of a group holding a ceremony in the plaza. Between 2005 and 2017, 284 ceremonies, flying 50 different flags were held in the Plaza.

Continue reading →

Contact Information