Choose your screen resolution: Auto adjust 800x600 1024x768
OOPS. Your Flash player is missing or outdated.Click here to update your player so you can see this content.
McQueary v. Conway Print E-mail

United States District Court

This case represented a successful legal challenge by the ACLU of Kentucky to a Kentucky law that criminalized the free speech rights of individuals who engage in peaceful protests near funerals, wakes, memorial services and burials.  The law sought to prohibit individuals from making sounds, displaying signs or distributing literature in a non-disruptive manner without prior approval from the family of the deceased or the person conducting the service.

              

U.S. District Court Karen Caldwell granted our request for a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of these provisions in 2006.  In her opinion, Judge Caldwell agreed with us that the provisions were overly broad and restricted "substantially more speech" than necessary to achieve the government's interest in preventing the disruption of funerals.

As a result of this court victory, the 2007 Kentucky Legislature decided to forgo the constitutionally impermissible legislation and instead passed House Bill 280 that deleted those portions of the law that we successfully challenged.  On April 25, 2008, the parties submitted their briefs to the Court on whether the case should be dismissed on the basis of the legislative repeal.

 

 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]

Syndicate

ACLU-KY News