ACLU serves post office over civil rights violation

The attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon (ACLU) served Ashland's Postmaster with a letter outlining their concern over an incident where protesters were barred from gathering on steps in front of the local post office.

On April 15, 2010 organizers with Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice, members of the War Resisters League, Citizens for Peace and Justice and others held a rally calling on Congress to create new jobs, tax the Wall Street speculators and reign in the Big Banks to protect consumers. The tax day action was planned in coordination with actions in 40 cities across the country.

In Ashland Oregon, protesters gathered at the local branch of the US Post Office. There they were barred from the property by post office supervisors.

CPJ volunteer Ivend Holen told Rogue IMC, "One of the superintendents came out of the Ashland Post Office to inform us that unless we stayed off US Post Office property he would call the US Postal Inspectors to arrest us. I asked him if the Post Office was not public property, and he said that it is not in Ashland, since they lease the property from the private sector."

Gerald Cavanaugh of the War Resisters League had this to say to Rogue IMC, "the local post office decreed that we could not distribute our information at the entrance to the post office but had to stay on the sidewalk, being isolated from and thus unable to pass our literature to the great majority of people entering the building from the parking lot. This deplorable decision is but one more action that makes it so difficult for citizens who do not own a newspaper or television station to get contrarian views out to the general public. And one more symptom of the decline of free speech and democracy in America. "

The incident was picked up by the local branch of the ACLU which recently decided to take action in the form of a letter. According to the ACLU in a letter to Ashland's Postmaster, "the Ashland USPS improperly shut down all demonstrations and leafleting before any speech occurred, without any valid basis or grounds, and forced the demonstrators to vacate USPS property. The USPS also kicked off a local free-lance reporter, John Darling, who was attempting to cover the Tax Day demonstration...In so doing, the USPS violated the demonstrators’ rights to free speech and assembly protected by the First Amendment."

Organizers with Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice say they hope to carry on the tradition of Tax Day protests at the US Post Office and hope the incident in April was an isolated event.

TEXT OF LETTER BELOW...

To Whom It May Concern:

I write on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon (“ACLU”) to express concern related to violations of free speech and assembly rights occurring at the United States Post Office (“USPS”) located at 120 N. First Street, Ashland, Oregon.

Specifically, on April 15, 2010— i.e., Tax Day — several individuals affiliated with the Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice and/or the War Resisters League planned to peacefully demonstrate and leaflet near the front entryway of the Ashland USPS, as they have done in prior years. Indeed, going back numerous years, the Ashland USPS has consistently permitted groups and individuals to demonstrate, leaflet, protest, and freely exchange ideas and speech on exterior postal property, including in the front entryway.

This year, however, the Ashland USPS improperly shut down all demonstrations and leafleting before any speech occurred, without any valid basis or grounds, and forced the demonstrators to vacate USPS property. The USPS also kicked off a local free-lance reporter, John Darling, who was attempting to cover the Tax Day demonstration. (Mr. Darling wrote an article about the demonstration that appeared in the Ashland Daily Tidings and the Medford Mail Tribune on April 16, 2010.)

In so doing, the USPS violated the demonstrators’ rights to free speech and assembly protected by the First Amendment. The Tax Day demonstrators were not blocking access, impeding postal business, soliciting funds, or engaging in any other behavior prohibited by postal regulations. See generally 39 C.F.R. § 232.1. On the contrary, the demonstrators were attempting to engage in political speech and distribute literature in support of their cause, activities which are accorded the highest protection under the First Amendment, and are expressly permitted by USPS regulations. See 39 C.F.R. Id. § 232.1(h)(3); Initiative & Referendum Inst. v. USPS, 417 F.3d 1299, 1315 (D.C. Cir. 2005).’

Given Ashland USPS’s longstanding recognition that its sidewalks, entryway and exterior serve as an important and vital public forum where Ashland’s outspoken citizenry can freely exchange ideas and engage in political speech, we believe the unfortunate events on Tax Day this year were an aberration. We were happy to learn that a more recent political protest took place at the Ashland liSPS without restriction and was carried out in a respectful manner.

Due to the importance of the First Amendment rights involved, however, the ACLtJ wishes to voice its concern about the Tax Day incident, and to underscore our dedication to maintaining the public’s constitutional right to free speech and free assembly in every public forum, including the exterior of the Ashland USPS. We trust and hope that the events of April 15, 2010 will prove to be an isolated incident.

On behalf of the ACLU, I thank you in advance for taking the time to carefully review this letter, and for making every effort to prevent free speech violations in the future. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Thomas Freedman
Pearl Law LLC
Cooperating Attorney for the ACLU Foundation of Oregon