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Federal Court Arguments Set for Monday in ACLU Challenge to City-Imposed
Security Fees at 1999 Los Van Van Concert
December 12, 2002
MIAMI ? A federal district court judge is scheduled to hear arguments Monday in an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) case challenging the constitutionality of security fees imposed by the City of Miami during the 1999 concert by the Cuban band Los Van Van that attracted thousands of anti-Castro protestors.
At issue is whether the Miami Police Department was lawfully entitled to charge concert promoter Debbie Ohanian approximately $35,000 in fees to provide outside security during the concert, which was held on October 9, 1999 at the Miami Arena. Although she agreed with the city that police presence outside the arena was necessary because of the threat of protests by anti-Castro Cuban exiles, Ohanian objected to having to cover the security costs herself. She paid the fees "under protest" so the concert could go on without incident.
"The Miami Police Department responded to the presence of protestors by providing an unprecedented SWAT-team paramilitary presence to protect the band members and the approximately 2000 people who attended the festive, otherwise peaceful concert," said Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida Executive Director. "The city had an equal responsibility to respect the First Amendment rights of the protestors."
"The city doesn't have a right to impose a fee on freedom of speech and increase the price tag for any speech that attracts demonstrators," Simon added.
At Monday's hearing, ACLU cooperating attorneys Beverly Pohl and Bruce Rogow of Fort Lauderdale will argue that the city-imposed security fee is unconstitutional. The hearing will be at 3 p.m. December 16 at the U.S. District Court, 301 North Miami Avenue, 7th Floor, in downtown Miami.
Filed in March 2000, the ACLU lawsuit seeks to recover the high security fees, claiming the city had an obligation to provide security to maintain the public order during the protests. ACLU attorneys Pohl and Rogow argue that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects music as a form of expression and prohibits the government from arbitrarily charging fees to maintain public order. In the 1992 case, Forsyth County, Ga. v. Nationalist Movement, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that: "Speech cannot be financially burdened, any more than it can be punished or banned, simply because it might offend a hostile mob."
Although the city agrees that police presence was, in fact, necessary to maintain public order during the protests, its attorneys argue that Ohanian agreed to pay for security costs as part of her contract with the Miami Arena management to bring Los Van Van to the arena.
The case, Ohanian v. City of Miami, No. 00-1114, is being heard before United States District Judge Joan A. Lenard. Contact the ACLU office at the number above for the motion for summary judgment and other legal documents.
For Further Information Contact:
Alessandra Soler Meetze, Communications Director, 305-576-2337 ext.
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