Federal Lawsuit filed against City of Asheville for Discrimination

August  27, 2003

Mathew D. Staver

MAN FINED TWICE FOR PEACEFULLY SPREADING THE GOSPEL ON A PUBLIC SIDEWALK FILES FEDERAL LAWSUIT 

ASHEVILLE, NC – Today, Mr. Carroll Moore filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Asheville and the Asheville Police Department, after Carroll was fined twice for peacefully preaching to passersby on a public sidewalk. Mr. Moore is represented by Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, and Rena M. Lindevaldsen, Litigation Counsel for Liberty Counsel. Liberty Counsel is a First Amendment education and legal defense organization based in Orlando, Florida. 

Carroll Moore believes in preaching on public sidewalks and in parks as a means of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On March 29, 2003, Carroll was standing on a public sidewalk peacefully preaching, without any sound amplification, when he was fined by Asheville police for street vending or peddling. At the time, Mr. Moore was not selling anything or soliciting donations. On April 19, 2003, Carroll was on a public sidewalk peacefully preaching when he was fined by Asheville police for violating noise ordinance restrictions against using drums or loudspeakers. At the time, Carroll was using only his unamplified voice to spread the Gospel. 

Asheville police clearly are enforcing the City ordinances in a manner that discriminates against Mr. Moore because of his religious speech. Although the City noise ordinance specifically exempts unamplified, noncommercial speeches from the noise ordinance restrictions, the Asheville police continue to fine Mr. Moore. Carroll challenges the City’s discriminatory application of the noise ordinance as well as other City ordinances that are so broadly worded that they prohibit all speech, from a simple conversation to a formal and lengthy discussion of a subject, without prior permission from the City Manager. In effect, the City of Asheville requires silence on the streets, sidewalks and parks until the City Manager approves the content of the conversation. Even where permission is received, other City ordinances substantially limit a person’s right to engage in free speech on public sidewalks. 

Mat Staver stated, “Asheville’s Ordinances are breathtakingly unconstitutional in their effort to curtail speech on the public rights of way. The last time I checked, this is still America. Whatever happened to freedom of speech and religion? We intend to restore the Constitution in Asheville.” Staver continued, “Speech must be spontaneous if it is to be heard at all. Requiring advance notification for a person to exercise the right to free speech and then substantially curtailing the content and manner of the speech, once it is approved, is unconstitutional.”

Mathew D. Staver, Esq.
Liberty Counsel
http://www.lc.org.

An Ally of the Alliance Defense Fund