DC Circuit Strikes Down National Park Speech Permit Rules

In Boardley v. United States Department of the Interior, (DC Cir., Aug. 6, 2010), the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down as unconstitutionally overbroad on their face requirements that individuals and small groups obtain a permit before engaging in expressive activities in national parks, even in designated free speech areas. The regulations apply to both public assemblies and distribution of written materials. The lawsuit was filed by a Christian activist who, along with his associates, was stopped from distributing gospel tracts without a permit at the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. The court left open the possibility that the government can rewrite the rules to make them applicable only to large groups. Fox News yesterday reported on the decision. (See prior related posting.)