US court tosses protester's arrest at Liberty Bell
Lawyer Blogs
An anti-abortion protester arrested in 2007 had a First Amendment right to demonstrate on a sidewalk near the entrance the building that houses the Liberty Bell, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The decision overturns lower-court rulings that upheld the arrest of Christian evangelical leader Michael Marcavage. Marcavage, who lives in suburban Lansdowne, had been sentenced to a year's probation for refusing a National Park Service order to move to a nearby designated demonstration area.
The appeals court tossed the two charges on free-speech and procedural grounds. The three-judge panel said Marcavage caused no more of a disturbance than other people near the Liberty Bell entrance, including a cancer-survivors group and the drivers of horse-drawn carriages hawking their services.
Marcavage founded a group, Repent America, that opposes abortion, homosexuality and the teaching of evolution.
He has been arrested repeatedly during protests up and down the East Coast. He successfully challenged a 2004 arrest for picketing at a Philadelphia street festival for gays and lesbians, but a Massachusetts court last year upheld a disorderly conduct conviction based on his refusal to stop using a megaphone at Salem's famed Halloween celebration.
Related listings
-
BP agrees to $20B fund for spill victims
Lawyer Blogs 06/16/2010President Barack Obama met on his own turf with top BP officials on Wednesday to press his demands that the London-based oil giant pay into a claims fund for victims of the worst oil spill in the nation's history.BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, CEO...
-
Utah man facing firing squad seeks federal stay
Lawyer Blogs 06/15/2010A death row inmate set to be executed by firing squad Friday is scrambling to block his execution after losing an appeal at the Utah Supreme Court and failing to persuade the state parole board to grant him clemency.Ronnie Lee Gardner's attorneys are...
-
High court rejects appeal in rendition case
Lawyer Blogs 06/14/2010The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a Canadian engineer who was caught up in the U.S. government's secret transfer of terror suspects to other countries.The court did not comment Monday in ending Syrian-born Maher Arar's quest to sue top U....
New Rochelle, New York Personal Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP, in New Rochelle, New York, immediately. We can answer all your questions and work with you to determine if you have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at our firm are determined to resolve even the most difficult of cases. We will work closely with you to determine the best course of action to get your claim or case resolved in the most efficient way possible. We will fight for your right to compensation! No one should have to suffer a financial burden from the result of another person’s carelessness. The attorneys at Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP will aggressively fight to ensure that justice is served on your behalf.