Court Awards Attorneys Fees In Christian's Challenge To Dearborn Anti-Leafleting Ordinance

Last year, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, held unconstitutional on free speech grounds Dearborn, Michigan's leafleting restrictions that barred a group of Christians from proselytizing on public sidewalks surrounding the city's annual Arab International Festival. (See prior posting.) On remand, the district court enjoined enforcement of the leafleting restrictions.  Now, in Saieg v. City of Dearborn, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32062 (ED MI, March 9, 2012), a Michigan federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31705, Jan. 27, 2012) and ordered the city of Dearborn to also pay $1 in nominal damages and to pay plaintiffs $103,401.96 is attorneys' fees and costs.