Free Speech

“[W]e have little trouble in concluding that the people who framed and adopted Article I, section 8, as part of the original Oregon Constitution intended to prohibit broadly any laws directed at restraining verbal or nonverbal expression of ideas of any kind.”
-- State v. Ciancanelli
(Oregon Supreme Court, 2005)

The framers of the U.S. Constitution believed that the freedom of inquiry and liberty of expression were the hallmarks of a democratic society. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights provides protections in a number of areas including free speech.

The framers of the Oregon free speech equivalent, often referred to as our free expression provision, were even more protective of our rights.

Historically, at times of national stress, real or imagined free speech rights come under enormous pressure. During the “Red Scare” of the 1920s, thousand were deported for their political views. During the McCarthy period, the infamous blacklist ruined lives and careers. Today, protestors of U.S. government policies are attacked and creators, producers and distributors of popular culture are often blamed for the nation’s deep social problems.

Calls for censorship threaten to erode free speech.

The First Amendment and Oregon’s free expression provision protect popular speech and the most offensive and controversial speech from government suppression. The best way to counter obnoxious speech is with more speech. Persuasion, not coercion, is the solution.

Litigation

Moss v. Secret Service

ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Secret Service, Local Police Case Tied to 2004 Anti-Bush Demonstration

April 11, 2012 - In 2004, local police in Jacksonville, Oregon, at the direction of the U.S. Secret Service, violently broke up an anti-Bush picket line of about 300 peaceful demonstrators. At the same time the police allowed a group of pro-Bush demonstrators to remain in the same area undisturbed. As a result, the ACLU of Oregon filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Secret Service and local police agencies, seeking damages and an injunction against such governmental abuse in the future.

The government has been trying to have the case thrown out for several years, even before we can get to the merits of what happened that day. The latest attempt to have our clients’ claims dismissed is the subject of the second ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in this case.

On Monday, the court found that we have stated a claim against the Secret Service for violating our clients’ First Amendment rights by treating them differently than the pro-Bush demonstrators and that the Secret Service can be sued for their actions because they should have known their actions were unlawful.

Douglas County Reverses Decision to Bar Pipeline Opponents’ Participation at Earth Day Event

Victory for Free Speech and Anti-LNG Advocates

April 21, 2011 - Roseburg, OR – After an ACLU volunteer attorney contacted County Counsel Tuesday and County Commissioners heard testimony from upset pipeline opponents Wednesday, Douglas County changed course and will now allow anti-LNG activists to participate at the Douglas County Earth Day event this weekend in Roseburg.

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Legislation

FREE SPEECH: Disorderly Conduct at a Funeral (SB 1575) (PDF)

For years, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) and founders the Phelps family have picketed outside funerals, holding signs displaying often hateful homophobic messages. HB 3241 was introduced in the 2011 session to target these activities but, at the ACLU’s urging to reject the measure so clearly in violation of both the free expression provision of the Oregon Constitution (Article I, section 8) and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the bill failed. The concept came back in this short session and, though more limited than it had been before, was still motivated by the desire to respond to the offensive and abhorrent speech activities, albeit religiously motivated speech, of the WBC.

FREE SPEECH: Funeral Protests (HB 3241) (2011)

In response to the nationwide publicity surrounding the Phelps family that operates the Westboro Baptist Church and their controversial demonstrations outside the funerals of fallen service members, HB 3241 was introduced.

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Other

ACLU Joins Network of Advocates Calling for Release of May Day Activist

May 3, 2012 - Ricardo Valera was arrested at Portland’s May Day March on Tuesday while peaceably exercising his First Amendment rights. All of Ricardo’s criminal charges have been dropped, yet today he remains in Multnomah County Jail where the Sheriff continues to hold him at the request of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

This afternoon the ACLU signed on to a letter with other members of the ACT Network for Justice and Dignity, calling for the Sheriff to immediately release Ricardo. The ACT Network is a collection of individuals and organizations who advocate for an end to collaboration between ICE and local law enforcement. Referencing a recent Resolution passed by the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners that expressed great concern for the devastating effect on families and on our community of ICE policies, today’s letter to the Sheriff urged him to follow the lead of the Commissioners by refusing to do ICE’s dirty work.

The Pledge of Allegiance in Oregon Public Schools

Many public schools in the United States ask students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Some students object to the practice for reasons of conscience. Both the Oregon Legislature and the courts have developed a common-sense solution to the conflict: a school may lead students in reciting the Pledge, but it must also respect the wishes of students who choose not to join in.

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