On The Front Lines
The Rutherford Institute Forces County Officials to Change Policies on Free Speech and Religious Expression in Public Places
Rutherford Institute Attorneys Negotiate Settlement with Ocean County Parks & Recreation OfficialsTrenton, NJ --Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have successfully reached a settlement on behalf of Carmine Sauchelli, of Bayville, N.J., who was unlawfully prohibited by county officials from handing out religious material in a public park. Residents of Ocean County, N.J., will no longer be prohibited from handing out literature in a public park.
County officials agreed to settle the suit that was filed in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in October 2002, after officials repeatedly denied Sauchelli's requests for permission to distribute religious literature in Berkley Island County Park. On both occasions, county officials denied Sauchelli's request, stating that "[a]lthough the right to freedom of speech is certainly applicable within the Parks' system, it is not absolute and may be subjected to restrictions." In justifying their refusal to allow Sauchelli to distribute religious literature in the park, county officials reasoned that their regulations serve a government interest that is "designed to promote peace, tranquility, order and respect within the park system." In clarifying the county's position on distribution of materials, Dean Chlebowski, the deputy director, revealed that, in fact, "[i]t has been [the county's] long-standing policy not to permit the distribution of literature at any of our facilities, whether religious, political or commercial advertisements." Sauchelli contacted The Rutherford Institute for help in defending his First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Institute attorneys charged that by closing a public place to a traditional and protected form of speech, the county violated Sauchelli's First Amendment rights to free speech, free exercise of religion and association, and his due process and equal protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The settlement calls for Ocean County to amend their park expression regulations to allow leafleting in the park except at designated times and places restricted for special users. The county will pay Sauchelli $25,000 in damages for having his right to expression restricted.
"Ocean City's attempt to close the park to protected free speech is a clear violation of the First Amendment rights of all Ocean City residents. The right to seek to change minds and hearts on public issues in public places has been clearly established throughout American history," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "Public parks are sacred ground, and the ability to discourse in such places is indispensable to an informed democracy."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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