Jan 19 (Reuters) - A group of activists affiliated
with the Occupy Wall Street movement lost an emergency bid to
hold a rally outside the Manhattan federal courthouse as part of
a nationwide "Occupy the Courts" protest.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled after a last minute
hearing on Thursday afternoon that for legal reasons and
security concerns, he would uphold the General Services
Administration (GSA) decision denying their permit application.
"There are clear security issues about the gathering of
substantial numbers of persons in that area," Kaplan said.
The plaintiff's lawsuit, filed late Wednesday, requested an
immediate ruling forcing the GSA to reverse its decision to deny
the permit and allow the protest to go forward -- as it is
scheduled to do in 120 cities around the country, according to
the organizers.
The judge, who criticized the plaintiffs for filing their
claim at the last minute, said the GSA had followed established
policy in denying the protest permit and was therefore not
discriminating against this protest group's first amendment
rights.
In addition, the judge found the area concerned, a small
plaza in front of the main courthouse entrance bounded on one
side by Pearl Street, could not legally be considered a public
forum.
The activists wanted to protest the second anniversary of
the controversial Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission, which held that the government
cannot prevent corporations from contributing money to political
campaigns.
The lawsuit came after the GSA, a federal agency that
manages most federal buildings, last Friday, rejected an
application from a member of Occupy Wall Street, Jarrett
Wolfman, for permission to hold a gathering of approximately 200
people outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan federal courthouse.
Wesley French, a GSA official, noted in denying the permit
that the court already had two events scheduled that day -- a
citizenship swearing-in and the installment of federal judge
Alison Nathan. French asserted that the need for additional
security made it impossible to accommodate the rally.
The lawsuit on behalf of Move to Amend, the group organizing
Friday's nationwide effort, argued that the decision violates
the protesters' right to free speech and was not narrowly
tailored to serve the government's interests, as required by the
U.S. Constitution. According to the suit, similar gatherings are
a matter of routine outside the courthouse.
BACK TO OCCUPY WALL STREET'S ROOTS
For now, Friday's protest has been shifted to Zuccotti
Park, where the Occupy Wall Street movement first began. A march
and a rally at Foley Square, across the street from the
courthouse, are still scheduled, as the square is a city-owned
plaza and not federal property.
In a press release, Move to Amend claimed that 120 protests
are scheduled for Friday in 46 cities, including a rally outside
the U.S. Supreme Court, and that only three permits have been
denied.
The suit was filed by Gideon Oliver, president of the New
York chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which has
represented members of Occupy Wall Street in a variety of legal
matters, including protesters arrested during marches.
The case is Wolfman and Occupy the Courts v. French, U.S.
District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-cv-0443.
For Wolfman: Gideon Oliver
For French/GSA: Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalie Kuehler
(Reporting By Basil Katz)
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