On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Court Victory Stands, Constitution Party Prevails in Efforts to Circulate Petitions at W. Va. State Park
ELKINS, W.Va. -- West Virginia officials have opted not to pursue their appeal of a federal court ruling that affirms the First Amendment right of a political group to circulate petitions and collect signatures at a public event held at a state park. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by attorneys for The Rutherford Institute on behalf of members of the Constitution Party of West Virginia. With the dismissal of the appeal, the order of District Court Judge John Preston Bailey enjoining the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR) from applying a rule restricting solicitation in state parks against petitioning activities of Constitution Party members will remain enforceable.
"This is an important victory for the freedom of speech," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "We cannot allow the government to silence us. In America, we have the right to be heard, and we have to protect it."
In September 2007, members of the Constitution Party of West Virginia, a political party committed to electing candidates to all levels of government who will uphold the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, attended a National Hunting and Fishing Day event being held at Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park in Lewis County, West Virginia. Constitution Party officials attended the event in order to circulate petitions and gather signatures supporting the inclusion of Party candidates on the state election ballot. In order for candidates for President, Vice President and Governor to be listed on the ballot issued by the West Virginia Secretary of State in the November 2008 election, West Virginia law requires that petitions with over 14,000 signatures be submitted. Constitution Party members did not disrupt the Hunting and Fishing Day event with their signature drive, nor did they cause any member of the public attending the event to complain. Nevertheless, insisting that the signature drive violated DNR rules, the park's superintendent ordered the Constitution Party to cease its activities. Even after being advised by Rutherford Institute attorneys that the party members' First Amendment rights had been violated, DNR Director Frank Jezioro allegedly refused to provide assurances that petitioning activities would be allowed at parks or events conducted at the parks. In April 2008, Institute attorneys filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia against DNR officials asking that the Constitution Party's fundamental rights to political expression and equal treatment under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the West Virginia Constitution be protected.
