Filed Date: June 29, 1987
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This case concerns the First Amendment rights of political groups to distribute leaflets and carry signs in public parks. Several antiwar protest and civil rights groups filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on June 29, 1987, alleging First Amendment violations in connection with the U.S. Constitution’s bicentennial celebration in Philadelphia. Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Lawyers Guild, the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, and private counsel, the plaintiffs sued We the People 200, Inc. (a group that organized public ceremonies celebrating the bicentennial), the National Park Service, the City of Philadelphia, several Philadelphia Police Department (“PPD”) officers, and a Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) agent.
On May 25, 1987, Vice President George H.W. Bush was scheduled to appear at a bicentennial event in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The plaintiff Pledge of Resistance (“Pledge”) arranged a march and demonstration to coincide with the Vice President’s appearance. Pledge demonstrators planned to use the official “soap box” set up by We the People 200 to espouse their views. The night before the event, the bicentennial organizers moved the location of the soap box. Pledge alleged that the organizers did so to ensure that Pledge demonstrators’ use of the soap box would take place far away from the Vice President’s speech, thus disrupting Pledge’s demonstration plans.
On the day of the demonstration, PPD installed barricades to prevent the demonstrators from accessing Independence Mall. PPD officers also barred people holding protest signs and leaflets, wearing T-shirts or buttons, or even wearing black armbands from accessing the Mall. However, PPD allowed anyone wearing merchandise connected with We the People 200 to access the Mall. The federal government argued that these restrictions were justified because We the People 200 had a permit to demonstrate on the Mall, and the plaintiffs did not.
The Clearinghouse could not locate the complaint, but an available document shows that the plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction on the same day they filed their complaint. District Judge John P. Fullam held an evidentiary hearing on July 8 and oral argument on the motion for a preliminary injunction on July 9, 1987.
On July 10, 1987, Judge Fullam issued a preliminary injunction, albeit slightly less sweeping than the plaintiffs had sought. 665 F.Supp. 414. First, the court denied the request to enjoin We the People 200 and the FBI, and declined to enjoin the police from surveillance activities. The court held that the evidence adduced at the hearing did not show clear violations of rights or a substantial likelihood of further constitutional violations attributable to these defendants. However, the court enjoined the remaining defendants from denying the plaintiffs and others permission to lawfully distribute leaflets or printed matter, or to wear, display or carry signs, placards or insignia in areas open to the public—as long as the activities did not breach the peace or disrupt public events.
Judge Fullam reasoned that the defendants’ exclusion of the protestors constituted an effort to exclude dissenting opinions from the bicentennial. The court elaborated that to exclude the protestors “because of the message conveyed by their signs or other insignia was a clear violation of the Constitution.” Judge Fullam also clarified that the preliminary injunction did not prevent the defendants from ensuring safety and security, enforcing the law, and barring unreasonable disruption of bicentennial events.
Five days later, on July 15, the court held a hearing wherein it denied the request by one plaintiff–the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force–to issue an injunction to force the defendants to provide a permit to assemble in the Independence Mall area the following day.
The parties reached a settlement agreement in late 1988. On November 28, 1988, the court entered a consent decree and permanent injunction. The Clearinghouse could not locate the settlement agreement or the specifics of the permanent injunction. A few days after the settlement, one of the plaintiffs moved for a contempt order, but it was denied the same day.
In 2003, community activist organizations filed a separate lawsuit (ACORN v. City of Philadelphia) alleging that local and federal law enforcement in Philadelphia violated the Constitution and the consent decree from this case.
In 2009, the nonprofit organization Friends of Animals (who was not a plaintiff in the initial action) filed an emergency motion to enforce the injunction. Judge Fullam ordered Independence National Historical Park to issue Friends of Animals a permit for demonstration on December 3, 2009.
As of March 2024, no docket activity has occurred since 2009.
Summary Authors
Mike Fagan (6/26/2008)
Sophia Acker (2/9/2024)
ACORN v. City of Philadelphia, Eastern District of Pennsylvania (2003)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4368966/parties/pledge-of-resistance-v-we-the-people-200-inc/
Fullam, John Patrick (Pennsylvania)
Hansen, Christopher A. (New York)
Kairys, David (Pennsylvania)
Presser, Stefan (Pennsylvania)
Garner, Joan K (Pennsylvania)
Fullam, John Patrick (Pennsylvania)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4368966/pledge-of-resistance-v-we-the-people-200-inc/
Last updated March 23, 2024, 4:09 p.m.
State / Territory: Pennsylvania
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 29, 1987
Case Ongoing: Perhaps, but long-dormant
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Antiwar protest groups and civil rights groups who were barred from demonstrating and distributing leaflets during a bicentennial celebration in Philadelphia.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
National Park Service (- United States (national) -), Federal
Federal Bureau of Investigation (- United States (national) -), Federal
We the People 200, Inc., Non-profit or advocacy
City of Philadelphia (Philadelphia), City
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Ex parte Young (federal or state officials)
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Preliminary injunction / Temp. restraining order
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration: 1987 - None
Content of Injunction: