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› Federal Court Strikes Down Medina Ordinance Regulating Door-to-Door Solicitation
Federal Court Strikes Down Medina Ordinance Regulating Door-to-Door Solicitation
December 1, 2000
On November 3 U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour issued an order (Peace Action Coalition v. City of Medina, Case No. C00-1811C) (
252kb) enjoining the city of Medina from enforcing its regulations that require
all solicitors and peddlers to register with the local police department and submit
to a criminal records check. In the words of the court, "the relevant portions
of the Medina Municipal Code constitute an improper prior restraint on speech
protected by the First Amendment, and are impermissibly overbroad and vague, chilling
constitutionally protected speech."
Not all regulations of peddlers and solicitors are illegal, but care must be taken to make sure that the boundary has not been crossed. This case helps to define that boundary. We recommend that each city review its ordinances to see if your code provisions may be open to similar constitutional challenge. The plaintiffs were represented by an attorney from the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Read the legal memorandums filed by the parties:
- Memorandum
in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary
Injunction
(
4.23Mb)
- Memorandum
in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and
Preliminary Injunction
(
3.82Mb)
- Reply Memorandum
in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary
Injunction
(
2.47Mb)