Attorney Nancy Frankel Pelletier and Attorney David S. Lawless, successfully defended the Town of Egremont, Massachusetts in a First Amendment action brought in Federal Court by second homeowners who, though not registered to vote in Egremont, claimed that they had a right to speak at annual and special session of the Egremont Town Meeting based on their status as taxpayers.
In an action filed in the District of Massachusetts, the plaintiffs argued that the Town’s alleged policy of precluding non- voters from speaking at town meetings and/or conditioning the right to speak on the discretion of the town meeting and its moderator violated their right to engage in political speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Specifically, plaintiffs alleged that that a town meeting is a designated public forum, that the Town had engaged in viewpoint discrimination, and that the discretion vested in a town meeting moderator violated the First Amendment.
Following the close of discovery and approximately two years after filing their complaint, the plaintiffs’ moved for a preliminary injunction on the eve of the then pending 2006 Egremont Town Meeting. Ms. Pelletier argued that the Town Meeting is a duly constituted legislative body that has the right under the speech and debate clause to control its own deliberations. Judge Ponser denied the motion rejecting the First Amendment analysis.
Plaintiff’s appealed to the First Circuit.Court of Appeals, which, relying on Minn. State Bd. for Cmty. Colls. v. Knight, 465 U.S. 271, 283-84 (1984), also agreed with Ms. Pelletier’s analysis.
The First Circuit also rejected plaintiff’s claim of viewpoint discrimination as unsupported by the record and noted that the exercise of discretion in facilitating debate is inherent in the moderator’s role. The First Circuit’s decision was outcome determinative of the then-pending motion for summary judgment which ultimately resolved the matter in the Town’s favor.
This is the most recent in a string of victories for Nancy, who represents municipalities throughout Massachusetts in complex civil rights and land use matters.
The First Circuit’s decision in Curnin v. Egremont can be found at 510 F. 3d 24. (2007).
Contact Info:
Nancy Frankel Pelletier, Esq. (413) 732-2301
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David S. Lawless, Esq. (413) 732-2301
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