Minnesota Lawyer Blog

Cooperating attorneys for the ACLU of Minnesota and the Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild filed a complaint today in the United States District Court, against the city of St. Paul on behalf of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, according to a press release from the ACLU.

The complaint challenges the city’s violation of the coalition’s rights to free speech and due process of law, in connection with the coalition’s plans to demonstrate at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul on Sept. 1, 2008. The complaint seeks to require St. Paul to grant the coalition’s request for a demonstration permit in sufficient detail, and to require the city to amend its permit procedure to provide basic due process to permit applicants.

Cooperating attorneys representing the coalition include Robert J. Hennessey, Lindquist & Vennum PLLP; Bruce Nestor, De Leon & Nestor; David B. Potter, Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP; Howard Bass, Bass Law Firm; and Jordan Kushner, Kushner Law Office. Professor Raleigh Levine from William Mitchell College of Law has been consulting on the case.

We are now six months away from the start of the Republican National Convention right here in Minnesota. (Hmmm. Will it be McCain or McCain who is nominated?)

Minnesota is pretty protective of First Amendment rights. No doubt that proclivity will be put to the ultimate test as protesters of all stripes descend upon the Twin Cities to air their grievances at the convention. Folks will be there who are anti-war, pro-choice, anti-death penalty, pro-same-sex marriage, anti-tax cut, pro nationalized health care, etc ., etc., etc. ... All of them will have three things in common: they'll be carrying picket signs; they'll be chanting loudly; and they'll be relying on their free-speech rights to make sure their concerns are heard.

On the other end of the equation are police and public officials, who want to make sure that order is maintained and that the protests don't interfere with the rights of locals and those here to participate in the convention. It's a delicate balance that can best be summed up in the words of that great high court jurist, Oliver Wendell Holmes: "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins."

And speaking of noses, we are going to get a whiff today of what free-speech arguments are to come. The anti-war protesters apparently do not think that the permitting process recently announced by St. Paul police passes the smell test. They plan a press conference at 4 p.m. today to announce their official response.

For the next six months, Minnesota's free-speech jurisprudence will devolop as if it were on steroids. Here's to hoping that by the time the convention is over and the out-of-town protesters have left, Minnesotans free-speech protections are as strong or stronger than they are today.