Posted 4/14/03 9:57 am ET

Augusta triumphs in protest lawsuit

By Heidi Coryell Williams
The Augusta Chronicle

In two separate court orders issued Monday, a federal judge upheld Augusta's newly amended protest laws and sided with Sheriff Ronnie Strength's safety concerns about Masters Week protests along Washington Road.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. called the area outside Augusta National Golf Club "profoundly congested" during Masters Week and wrote that the introduction of protesters to the area presents "a realistic, plausible, even probable potential for some accidental injury."

City officials are calling it a victory for the First Amendment, although opposing attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union have argued that the law restricts free speech.

"We are pleased with the fact that the ordinance was upheld as constitutional and our application of the ordinance was upheld," City Attorney Jim Wall said late Monday afternoon.

In addition to affirming that Augusta's recently amended protest laws are constitutional, the rulings upheld Sheriff Strength's decision to place hundreds of protesters on a 5.1-acre piece of land about a half-mile from Augusta National's front gates.

The judge's first ruling was issued at 10:22 a.m. Monday and deemed the city's protest laws constitutional. The second order was filed at 5:15 p.m. and affirmed the sheriff's decision to deny several protest groups permission to demonstrate directly outside and across the street from Augusta National.

Sheriff Strength had told protesters from the National Council of Women's Organizations and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition that they could use the 5.1-acre parcel, which is owned by Augusta National but has been granted to the city for the week.

The two civil-rights groups have said they plan to protest during this week's Masters in opposition to Augusta National's all-male membership.

That the land is owned by the entity the groups are are protesting "may, in an emotional sense, be bothersome to plaintiffs," the judge wrote.

"Emotions aside, the alternative site is nonetheless a good solution," the order said. "In fact, it is the only such alternative."

ACLU attorneys argued that the city's protest laws give Sheriff Strength too much discretion over when and where public demonstrations can take place.

"The sheriff's department - before it can restrain free speech - has to have evidence of an imminent threat of harm," local ACLU attorney Jack Batson said late Monday. "It can't just say there might be a safety issue."

Judge Bowen apparently disagreed.

"Vehicle-to-vehicle contact or vehicle-to-pedestrian contact might foreseeably occur just from the distraction offered by protesters at the requested sites," the order said.

Although the judge said it's "fair to say" the city passed its protest ordinance in anticipation of the Masters, he also said the ordinance draws heavily from a similar one used by the Chicago Park District. That ordinance "passed constitutional muster" in 2002 before the U.S. Supreme Court, the order said.

"I am disappointed with the initial ruling by the judge," Martha Burk, the chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations, said Monday before the second order had been issued. "I am still hopeful that we will be able to improve our position in Augusta by Thursday."

She was traveling to New York and was unavailable for comment late Monday.

The ACLU's legal director, Gerry Weber, said he plans to hold a teleconference today with his clients to "consider our options," one of which could be an appeal.

Demonstrators could choose to protest in groups of four or fewer, exempting them from protest restrictions, he said.