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Ruling in Miami Artistic Censorship/Cuba Ordinance Case
May 16, 2000
News Conference in ACLU offices at 2:30 p.m.
MIAMI U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno issued two
orders today in the class action lawsuit challenging Miami-Dade County's
Cuba Ordinance, which was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) on behalf of all Miami non-profit and for-profit arts and cultural
organizations.
The ACLU will hold a news conference with the Plaintiffs at 2:30 p.m.
(3000 Biscayne Blvd. in the 5th Floor Conference Room) to discuss
the ruling.
Judge Moreno ordered Miami-Dade County to temporarily allow Plaintiff
arts organizations to submit applications for the County's International
Cultural Exchange Grants without complying with most of the provisions
of the Cuba Affidavit. He ruled that Plaintiffs may submit grant
applications "by excising the offensive portions of the standard
'Cuba Affidavit' and submitting a modified affidavit."
The federal court order also noted that "based on existing case
law there is a substantial likelihood that the 'Cuba Affidavit' requirement
will be found unconstitutional under the foreign affairs provisions,
foreign commerce clause and supremacy clause" of the U.S. Constitution.
The Order specifically did not rule today on ACLU's First Amendment
and Equal Protection Clause challenges to the Cuba Ordinance.
Judge Moreno also issued an Order denying Miami-Dade County's Motion
to Dismiss the lawsuit. He noted that the Plaintiffs "are
ready, willing, and able to submit grant applications, which but for
the Cuba Affidavit would be considered by the County."
"We are very pleased that the Court agreed to require the County
to accept the grant applications. It's good for the arts and
cultural organizations, and it's the right decision for Miami-Dade
County," said John de Leon, President of the ACLU Greater Miami
Chapter. "Ultimately, the constitutionality of the County's
Cuba Ordinance is likely to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court
within the next month."
Background
The lawsuit, Miami Light Project v. Miami-Dade County, was filed by
ACLU Cooperating Attorneys Bruce Rogow and Beverly Pohl in early April
on behalf of the Miami Light Project, GableStage, the Cuban Cultural
Group, and concert promoters Debra Ohanian and Hugo Cancio
both not-for-profit and for-profit entities offering educational,
artistic, balletic, cinematic or other cultural events that might
directly or indirectly involve Cuban nationals.
The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the County's "Cuba
Restrictions" and the "Cuba Affidavit," which is required
of all groups wishing to apply for County cultural grants or seeking
to use County facilities for cultural venues.
All groups seeking cultural grants from Miami-Dade County or seeking
to use County facilities for cultural and artistic performances are
required to sign a Cuba Affidavit, which bars them from doing business
with Cuba or with people who do business with Cuba. Specifically,
the Affidavit requires all cultural and artistic groups to swear that
they have not engaged in business, financial dealings, or other transactions
with a Cuban national, the government of Cuba, or persons or
entities engaged in business with Cuba. Applicants must also
swear that they have not traveled to Cuba within ten years in violation
of the U.S. travel restrictions.
The hearing on the motion to prohibit enforcement of the Ordinance
was triggered when Miami-Dade County set May 16 as the cut-off day
for applications for cultural grants accompanied by sworn Cuba Affidavits.
(The original cut-off date was April 13, but the County extended the
date to May 16.) Applications will not be considered without
the submission of a signed Cuba Affidavit, which the County requires
as a precondition to consider grant applications. The Affidavit
directly warns grant applicants that, "Failure to submit the
Cuba Affidavit by this application deadline shall render the application
non-responsive and ineligible for further grant consideration."
If the Plaintiffs did not sign the Cuba Affidavit, they would have
been barred from grant considerations for projects through May 2001.
- Click here to read Judge Moreno's Order Granting in Part Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction
- Click here to read Judge Moreno's Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss
- Read the Case of the Month on the Cuba Ordinance Case
- More on the Cuba Ordinance Case
- Support our artistic censorship case by joining the ACLU
