David Dell is a passionate reproductive freedom activist and volunteers with Planned Parenthood to guard patients from protesters at the South Street clinic in Lincoln.
Back in the summer of 2008, there were anti-choice protestors outside the clinic when he lost his patience with their taunts and shouting. “I just wanted them to leave me alone and I decided to taunt them back so they would step farther back,” said Dell.
The protesters did end up leaving for the day, but they were not done. They composed a letter to the Lincoln Police Department, complaining that David had “disgusted” and “upset” them with his taunts. David was well aware that what he said was controversial, but he also knows that he had the legal right to say those things.
LPD actually called David to set up a meeting, where he received a criminal ticket for disturbing the peace.
“Clearly, David wasn’t ticketed because he was being noisy. He was ticketed because the police disagreed with the content of his speech. That’s illegal, and that’s why we went to court to defend him,” said ACLU of Nebraska Legal Director Amy Miller.
We represented David in court where we ended up winning and clearing David of the frivolous charges. It was a great victory for David - but that was not the end of the story. It was clear to us that we needed to follow up with the Chief of Police and Lincoln City Attorney so it was clear that they cannot arrest citizens for simply exercising their right of free speech.
Learn more about your freedom of speech rights.
2016 is the 50th anniversary of the ACLU of Nebraska. We will feature several memories from our five decades of defending freedom in the Cornhusker state here. Do you have a favorite memory? Share it with us!
