Two issues
affecting First Amendment protected speech are brewing in Southwest Florida and
both could dramatically impact local ordinances that punish (or seek to) residents
with arrest and / or jail time and speech fines.
The City of
Punta Gorda
A Punta Gorda
resident filed a lawsuit in federal court pertaining to a recording prohibition
contained within Chapter 15 of the City Code. In court filings reviewed by
County Examiner, Andrew Sheets, a resident of Punta Gorda, Florida challenges
the city’s prohibition on recording governmental employees engaging in public duties
without their express permission.
The suit stems
from his audio and video recording of interactions with public employees at
City Hall including after city employees declined to give their consent to be
recorded.
City code and a
recently adopted Charlotte County ordinance both currently prohibit anyone from recordings in
libraries, county offices, jails and buses without permission from county
administrators, except for public meetings.
The complaint, filed in the Middle District of Florida is Case
No. 2:19-cv-484.
The City of Fort Myers
An ordinance proposed by a Fort Myers, Florida city council member
would punish residents for their public comment speech in violation of a
proposed “civility” ordinance and subject them to forced removal from city
council chambers, including threat of arrest and/ or jail time.
During their July 15, 2019 city council meeting, Fort Myers
city council member Fred Burson made and council subsequent adopted a motion “to request the City Attorney to review
language submitted by Councilperson
Burson and Councilperson Anderson to update the
current
Ordinance; motion carried 6-1.”
At the 35:11
minute mark Councilman Burson said “the purpose of the ordinance should
be to prohibit the following language at the podium”:
“Abusive,
derogatory, hurtful, insulting, aggressive, hateful, racist, rude, threatening,
menacing, hostile, nasty, belittling, offensive ---and the intention of the
ordinance would be to stop the use of the above language during public meetings
…..and to direct the video technician or operator in the event somebody is, uh,
violating the intent of this ordinance is to take the camera off that
individual …and to direct the technician to mute the sound …and I would also as
part of this as the city attorney to give himself and/ or the Mayor the
authority to warn the individual no more than 3 x their language or behavior is
inappropriate ---at that point in time at the direction of the city attorney or
the Mayor allow the police officer to escort the individual from the chamber
---and I would like it to be punishable by up to sixty days in jail and a
fine of $500.00…”
The city attorney
is expected to present the draft speech ordinance to council with 30 days.
