A consent decree (
full text) was issued last week in
Zastrow v. City of Toledo, (ND OH, March 19, 2019), enjoining the city of Toledo, Ohio from enforcing various City Code provisions against anti-abortion demonstrators engaged in non-obstructive, expressive activity on public sidewalks and medians outside a Toledo abortion clinic. The decree included a detailed description of the kind of expressive activities that are protected:
3. The “non-obstructive, expressive activity of pro-life demonstrators” ... includes activity protected by the First Amendment, including, but not limited to unamplified prayer, preaching, worship, singing worship songs, playing worship songs with instruments such as the acoustic guitar and violin, holding pro-life signs, distributing literature, and engaging passersby with their pro-life message.
4. The parties agree that the term “non-obstructive, expressive activity” means activity protected by the First Amendment that does not physically prevent a pedestrian from using a public sidewalk or other public way or that does not physically impede a vehicle from traveling on a public road or street. This does not mean that the person or persons engaging in the First Amendment activity must be moving all the time. Additionally, the First Amendment activity is not “obstructive” because a pedestrian might have to walk around the person engaging in the expressive activity. It is only “obstructive” when the person engaging in the First Amendment activity physically prevents a pedestrian from using the public sidewalk or prevents a vehicle from entering onto the premises....
Christian Post reports on the consent decree.
