TRENTON, N.J. - A federal judge Tuesday ordered the Asbury Park Board of Education to halt its policy of restricting speech it deemed "personally directed" from community members at public meetings.
In June, ADF-allied attorney Dennis Caufield asked the court for the order on behalf of citizens who were critical of the decision by the school district superintendent to appoint as president the former manager of a local club that organizes and promotes events featuring pornography actors and "hot-hot go-go boys." As general manager of Club Paradise, the school board president Robert DiSanto was a prominent contributor to the club's website which features lewd materials, links to pornography, and no age verification requirement.
During the public comment portion of a school board meeting, DiSanto prevented the two citizens from expressing concern over his direction of education policy in the same community as his former club.
"We agree with the court that the policy does not pass constitutional muster," Caufield said. "The school board president's judgment and character is a legitimate question for the community to address. The president cannot rely on a vague and subjective policy to silence legitimate public comment on his fitness to direct children's education."
Judge Mary Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey wrote in the court's order, "We find that the words 'personally directed...' have the effect of an impermissible viewpoint-based restraint and are unconstitutional. Because we find the challenged provision to be an unconstitutional restraint on speech in a limited public forum, we find that the plaintiffs have demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their challenge to this provision of the Bylaw." Read the full text of the opinion here:
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/asburypiopinion.pdf.
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