老澳门开奖结果 Sues Maryland Transit System for Banning Ads from PETA
BALTIMORE 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 and Cockey, Brennan & Maloney, P.C. filed a First Amendment lawsuit and a preliminary injunction motion today on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against the Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland and its public transit division, Shore Transit. The lawsuit challenges Shore Transit鈥檚 policy prohibiting advertisements that are 鈥減olitical,鈥� 鈥渙ffensive,鈥� 鈥渃ontroversial,鈥� 鈥渙bjectionable,鈥� or 鈥渋n poor taste.鈥�
In May 2020, PETA submitted two proposed advertisements for placement on Shore Transit鈥檚 system urging the closure of slaughterhouses on Maryland鈥檚 lower Eastern Shore. Shore Transit rejected PETA鈥檚 advertisements on the grounds that they were too 鈥渙ffensive鈥� and 鈥減olitical鈥� to run on Shore Transit鈥檚 system. Last month, PETA asked Shore Transit whether it would be willing to reconsider and run the proposed advertisements. Shore Transit never responded.
鈥淥pen-ended restrictions on 鈥榩olitical鈥� or 鈥榦ffensive鈥� speech give government officials too much discretion and too little guidance,鈥� said Brian Hauss, senior staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 鈥淎ccess to public advertising spaces should not depend on the whims and prejudices of government censors.鈥�
The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 preliminary injunction motion argues that Shore Transit鈥檚 policy violates the First Amendment because it is inherently vague, gives unrestricted discretion to enforcement officials to censor speech, and discriminates against disfavored viewpoints. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 motion asks the court to temporarily block the advertising restrictions while the case is still pending and order Shore Transit to run PETA鈥檚 ads.
鈥淚n the land of free speech, Shore Transit can鈥檛 block appeals to end cruelty to animals based on whether its officials agree with that idea or not,鈥� said PETA Foundation Director of Litigation Asher Smith. 鈥淧ETA is pushing for the restoration of our First Amendment rights and the opportunity to encourage Shore Transit riders to save animals鈥� lives by going vegan.鈥�
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
The complaint can be found here: /legal-document/peta-v-shore-transit
Free Speech