The police can't "shush" people. David Dell was
volunteering for Planned Parenthood in Lincoln, and he got into a
verbal exchange with some pro-life protestors demonstrating outside
of the clinic. Police ended up ticketing Dell for "disturbing
the peace," even though all he did was tell the protestors what he
thought of them. ACLU Nebraska represented Dell in court and
got the ticket dismissed--it was easy, because the First Amendment
protects your right to free speech, even if the person who hears it
doesn't like it. "Dell didn't say anything threatening," said
ACLU Nebraska Legal Director Amy Miller. "He just expressed himself
in no uncertain words. That's 100% legal." ACLU has
written to the Lincoln Chief of Police, warning that future efforts
to "shush" people from using their free speech rights will be
challenged. (July, 2009)
What do you mean I can't put a sign in my own front yard??
Many cities in Nebraska have a local ordinance limiting the amount
of time homeowners can place an election sign in their yard.
Supposedly, this reduces "clutter," but it also reduces free speech
rights. Lincoln and Bellevue had these laws and were actively
enforcing it. Darryl Rivers received a notice on his front
door that he had to remove his "Obama for President" yard sign or
face a $500 fine. Randy Eschelman had to go to the Bellevue
City Council to plead for the right to keep displaying his "Bob Barr
for President" sign. After ACLU Nebraska threatened to sue the
city, both Lincoln and Bellevue agreed their law was unconstitutional and stopped
enforcement. ACLU is now working with other cities with
similar illegal limitations on speech. (September, 2008)
You have the right to remain silent...during the Pledge of
Allegiance. The right to free speech also includes the
right to no speech. Students at Everett Elementary School in
Lincoln were surprised when a new policy of saying the Pledge every
day was unveiled, since this multi-ethnic school had never done the
Pledge in the past. But the real problem was that one teacher
believed she had the right to force every student to participate in
the Pledge. Students who refused to participate were going to
be sent to "time out" as punishment. After ACLU intervention,
the Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent contacted the school and
instructed every teacher to respect the rights of students to NOT
say the Pledge. (February, 2008)
ACLU defends free speech rights of Westboro Baptist Church. Kansas
resident Shirley Phelps-Roper is a member of the Westboro Baptist
Church. She and other members of the group came to Bellevue,
Nebraska, to protest in front of a soldier's funeral. While
protesting, Shirley tied an American flag around her waist and
allowed her son to stand on another flag. The police put her
in handcuffs, removed her from the protest, and booked her on
charges of "flag mutilation" despite the fact that the US
Supreme Court has held there is no such crime on three different
occasions. ACLU Nebraska announced it will defend her in
court with cooperating attorney Bassel El-Kasaby. The case is
currently proceeding forward.
(June, 2007)
Isaiah May was told not to come back to watch a Beatrice High
basketball game until he changed his t-shirt. His shirt
said "Heckler" across the front. Beatrice High had a dress
code that said no one attending a school event could bring a sign or
shirt with a "negative" message. Isaiah was asked to leave two
separate games because his shirt was perceived as negative.
After ACLU intervention, the school changed the dress code so it
only affected students, and not members of the general public.
(February, 2006)
The Richardson County Sheriff's office asked him to take down
a sign on his front door. Troy was disappointed with
decisions made by local government officials in Humboldt, Nebraska,
so he posted a sign on his front door. The sign said "F***
Humboldt." As a result, he was visited by a deputy who
threatened him with arrest if he didn't remove the sign. The
Supreme Court held long ago that the "F word" is constitutionally
protected speech under the First Amendment. The ACLU has
warned law enforcement that everyone has the right to free speech on
their own property--even when it is strong language. (November, 2005) Top
A 64 year old veteran was charged with a crime for
flying his flag upside down. Larry Lentz lives on a rural
route in Loup County. He served during the Vietnam War and
re-enlisted later in the Army and Naval Reserves. Now retired,
he decided to fly his flag upside down in October, 2004, in order to
express his opinion about current events. The Loup County
Sheriff visited him and issued a criminal ticket for flag
desecration. After ACLU Nebraska discussions with the County
Attorney, Mr. Lentz's ticket has been dismissed and the flag
confiscated by law enforcement will be returned...just in time for
Veteran's Day. Top
A nurse employed at a county hospital spoke out as a whistleblower about unsafe conditions relating to
patient-nurse ratios, etc., and was fired without a proper hearing. ACLU Nebraska filed a federal lawsuit
claiming her First Amendment rights were violated. The case was settled in 2002 to the satisfaction of our
client. Top
