The new ruling could make it easier to challenge local laws governing things like hunting and sleeping in public places, as well as restrictions on public demonstrations.
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WASHINGTON – A street preacher from a group who yelled “whore” and “Jezebel” at concertgoers outside a Mississippi amphitheater won a unanimous Supreme Court case on March 20, with the justices saying the law does not prevent him from challenging local rules about where he can shout his message.
In doing so, the court limited the scope of an earlier ruling that prohibited convicted criminals from filing civil actions to undermine their convictions.
The new ruling could make it easier for people convicted of violating the rules to challenge local laws governing things like hunting and sleeping in public places, as well as restrictions on public demonstrations, if they can later claim they violated civil rights.
Even if such lawsuits fail, groups representing local governments warned that litigation remains costly for cities.
But the court agreed with public evangelist Gabriel Olivier, who had previously been convicted of violating the city’s restrictions on public demonstrations, that the 1994 ruling should not apply to him.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote that Olivier is not challenging the validity of his conviction to seek relief or monetary damages. Instead, they are trying to prevent him from being charged with the same crime again.
“Ultimately, this case is not about what Olivier did in the past and does not rely on any evidence about his criminal record,” Kagan said.
In retrospect, the court’s 1994 ruling was “a little too broad,” she said.
In response to the ruling, Alison Ho, Olivier’s lawyer, said, “It is common sense that citizens who have been arrested under an unconstitutional law can challenge that law.”
“This is not only a victory for the right to share one’s faith in public, but also a victory for the right of all Americans to go to court when their First Amendment rights are violated,” said First Liberty Institute Director Kelly Shackelford.
He yelled insults at concertgoers, including “whore” and “Jezebel.”
Officials in Brandon, Mississippi, said the messages spread by Olivier and his group outside the city’s amphitheater, including shouting insults like “whore” and “Jezebel” over a bullhorn and holding up large placards showing aborted fetuses, were too destructive.
Mr. Olivier’s group preferred to preach at major intersections in the amphitheater, but city officials said it was difficult for traffic police to monitor the radios. Officials said concertgoers walked through the streets to avoid the proselytizers and police had to leave their posts to prevent fights from breaking out.
In 2021, Olivier and other members of his group went to the amphitheater for a country music concert night after the city approved new restrictions on where demonstrations could be held.
Olivier is arrested because he refuses to follow the rules.
He was fined $304 and sentenced to 10 days in jail, suspended for one year.
Rather than contest his conviction, Olivier sued the city using federal civil rights law, alleging that his constitutional rights were violated.
Lower court dismisses preacher’s lawsuit
A federal district judge dismissed the lawsuit. The decision was upheld by the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which cited the Supreme Court’s 1994 Heck v. Humphrey decision, which held that a convicted felon cannot bring a civil action that “necessarily suggests the invalidity” of a conviction or sentence.
During oral arguments in Olivier v. Brandon City in December, the justices seemed to struggle with the case.
Mr. Olivier’s civil rights case appeared to be blocked by a 1994 ruling, but he wondered whether that ruling was intended to cover situations like his.
The city said the preacher had other options.
Brandon’s city attorney noted that Olivier had other ways to fight the restrictions, including challenging them as violations of the state constitution’s free speech protections.
“In this case, the appellants claim that the doors of the courthouse are closed, but that argument ignores the countless doors that the appellants have not tried to enter,” said attorney Todd Butler. “What this lawsuit is about is the petitioner’s priority door.”
The Justice Department issued an opinion on Mr. Olivier’s behalf, as did several religious groups, including the Hare Krishna movement.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness said groups like it that “must propagate or practice religious beliefs in public” would most likely have to challenge restrictions similar to Brandon’s, but faced a no-win situation because they were most likely already charged with violating the restrictions.
