October 9, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot restrict free
speech on the sidewalks that run through its plaza on the city's
Main Street, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled
on Wednesday.
The court held that the sidewalks are a traditional public forum
and restrictions on free speech on those sidewalks are
unconstitutional. The sidewalks that used to line the former block
of Main Street currently are open to pedestrians but not open to
free speech.
"We hold here that the city, not the Church, has responsibility
for regulating speech on the easement," the ruling said.
"The city cannot take action that runs afoul of our first and
primary amendment," the ruling states. "The city cannot create a
'First Amendment-free zone.' Their attempt to do so must fail."
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, who was an activist
civil-rights attorney prior to his election, said the city would
abide by the decision and will not join the Church in any further
appeal.
Anderson distanced himself from a deal made by former Mayor
Deedee Corradini and the former city council. "This, in my view,
should always have remained a public easement," he said.
The ruling would not unravel the sale of the Main Street block,
Anderson said.
A spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
left open the possibility of an appeal.
"The Church is studying the ruling very carefully," spokesman
Dale Bills said. "All the implications and options will be
evaluated over the next few days."
While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claimed
that permitting free speech on the sidewalks would infringe on the
Church's right of free expression, the court ruled that the Church
"has no First Amendment right to be protected from public
speech."
The dispute arose after Church imposed rules restricting
protests, demonstrations and other activities on the one-block
stretch of Main Street in Salt Lake City it bought from the city in
April 1999.
Originally, the plaza was to be regulated no more strictly than
a public park, but that provision was omitted from the subsequent
city ordinance. Instead, the city decided that nothing in the use
of the easement "shall be deemed to create or constitute a public
forum, limited or otherwise, on the property."
An easement allows a person to make limited use of another's
property.
The list of rules was written by city and Church attorneys and
approved by the City Council in April 1999. It outlawed smoking,
sunbathing, bicycling and "engaging in any illegal, offensive,
indecent, obscene, vulgar, lewd or disorderly speech, dress or
conduct."
The Church also claimed the right to exclude anyone who
previously had violated the rules.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah sued, arguing that
the restrictions were unconstitutional.
"I'm glad the 10th Circuit followed and accepted our arguments
about how important it is to maintain free speech on public
sidewalks," said Stephen Clark, who argued the ACLU's case before
the appeals court.
To Clark, the crux of the ruling was that it's not up to the
city to insulate the Church from competition.
"That's what this transaction really was about -- handing the
Church a megaphone downtown... but no one else has this right. So
that's really the biggest vindication to our clients' rights,"
Clark said. "They have equal access to the Church in sharing its
views."
Clark noted that the Church always claimed that the Church
always called the plaza "a little bit of Paris" downtown.
"Now, with any luck, it will become a little bit of Hyde Park,
as well," he said.
The First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City, the first
plaintiff in the suit, filed because they had "absolute outrage
that Main Street ... was literally taken out from under our feet,"
said Rev. Tom Goldsmith.
"It was just a major affront to all people who have diverse
opinions," Goldsmith said. He added that he hoped the ruling would
be "a wonderful opportunity for healing between Mormons and
non-Mormons."
Jared Wood, spokesman for co-plaintiff Utahns for Fairness, said
he was thrilled at the court action.
"Since Sept. 11, our country has suffered an erosion of civil
liberties. It is a relief to hear the court so strongly affirm that
the first amendment is not for sale," Wood said. "I thought we'd
win the first time, honestly. I guess I was naive."
The lawsuit was earlier dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge
Ted Stewart, who ruled the collection of fountains, reflecting
pools, plants and statues in downtown Salt Lake City had turned a
public sidewalk into a private religious garden, exempt from First
Amendment protection.
In a 42-page ruling released in May 2001, Stewart wrote:
"Although the property remains part of the pedestrian
transportation grid via the easement, the undisputed facts show the
property's physical character and principal uses have been altered
to such an extent that it is clearly a walkway through an enclave
area and not part of the city's public sidewalks. It is no longer a
public forum."
The LDS Church had no immediate comment on the ruling and
their lawyers were reading through the decision Wednesday
afternoon, said spokesman Dale Bills.
The city sold the block of Main Street to the Church for $8.1
million, and the Church promised to turn the asphalt and concrete
between North Temple and South Temple into a pedestrian plaza. City
leaders also granted the Church exclusive rights to distribute
literature and broadcast speeches and music on the block.
The Church said it could act as it wished on the land because
its rights as the property owner trumped the obligations of the
easement.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
