cannabisnews.com: Appeals Court Revives Challenge To Parade Law





Appeals Court Revives Challenge To Parade Law
Posted by FoM on March 10, 2000 at 21:34:56 PT
By Larry Neumeister, Associated Press
Source: Boston Globe
A federal appeals court Friday gave fresh life to a First Amendment challenge to the city's parade permit application process, saying a judge who ruled in favor of the city must review more evidence before deciding the issue. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the city law governing the issue ''is not sufficiently precise on its face to pass constitutional muster'' but added that it did not have enough facts before it to be sure. 
It said the case must return to the lower court so both sides can submit additional evidence regarding the practices of Police Commissioner Howard Safir and the guidelines used to determine whether permits are issued. ''There is not enough evidence in the record regarding the practices of the police department in granting parade permits to determine whether the ordinance is unconstitutional,'' the appeals court wrote. The ruling came in a challenge to the parade permit process by a member of the Million Marijuana March Organization. The lawsuit seeks for the courts to declare that the parade permit law is unconstitutional and issue an order preventing Safir from enforcing it. The lawsuit stems from the city's refusal to allow a group advocating the legalization of marijuana to parade up Fifth Avenue from Washington Square Park to Central Park at 96th Street on May 2, 1998. The New York Police Department had offered an alternative parade route. U.S. District Judge Leonard B. Sand ordered the city to add language to its parade permit law setting a time frame for when it would process and respond to parade requests. The judge rejected the other claims in the lawsuit. On appeal, the three-judge panel said it studied the complaint by the marijuana advocates that Safir had too much discretion over permits. It said ''unbridled discretion ... if true, poses real censorship risks.'' The appeals court said it needs more information. A telephone message left with lawyers for the city was not immediately returned. New York (AP)Published: March 10, 2000© Copyright 2000 Boston Globe Electronic Publishing, Inc. Related Articles & Web Sites:Millennium Marijuana March Home Page - May 6, 2000http://www.cures-not-wars.org/mmm/may1.htmlMillion Marijuana Marchhttp://www.millionmarijuanamarch.com/mmm/mmm1_1.htmMillion Marijuana March News 1999http://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/million.htmCannabisNews Articles On The Million Marijuana March:http://www.google.com/search?q=cannabisnews+Million+Marijuana+March&num=10&sa=Google+Search
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