Alliance Defense Fund has won a second lawsuit in federal court against the city of Ithaca, New York.
The first incident occurred in 2006 when Jim Deferio was sharing the gospel with people in Ithaca Commons, a place described as a “traditional public forum bustling with the sounds of recreation, celebration, commerce, demonstration, rallies, music, poetry, speeches, and other expressive activities.” Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Jonathan Scruggs picks up the story.
“He was stopped by police, and the police said that no speech is allowed if it can be heard 25 feet away from the person speaking,” the attorney explains. “And of course that’s substantially a burden.” So ADF filed suit, and the court ruled the ordinance unconstitutional.
Last year, Deferio’s friend Kevin Deegan went to the same area to evangelize and was stopped by police again, according to an ADF press release. Deegan presented the court order in his defense, but to no avail.
“And the city applied the exact same policy, the exact same 25-foot rule which had already been declared unconstitutional,” Scruggs notes. “And the city had already been enjoined from enforcing the rule.”
ADF sued and won the second time as well, claiming that “an ordinance already declared to be unconstitutional cannot continue to be enforced by city officials.”
Scruggs hopes Ithaca has gotten the point, but is prepared to file further lawsuits if necessary.
Filed under: Religion, Alliance Defense Fund, Christians, legal
