Two Defenses to a Protest Case

The application of criminal charges to non-violent protests may raise First Amendment issues and have a potential chilling effect on legitimate First Amendment activity. Our office has handled multiple protest cases in which our knowledge and expertise in First Amendment litigation led to successful outcomes for our clients. Most recently, a client was protesting prison abuse at the Florida State Prison. He and other protestors began to leave the property as directed to by law enforcement officers. Once at their cars, which were parked on the edge of the road way, our client had a verbal altercation with the officer. The officer stated, “that’s it, you want to talk ****, come here you are under arrest.” We presented two defenses. First, the arrest was a violation of the First Amendment because it was clear our client was only arrested because of the statements he made to the officer. Second, that our client was not on the property of Florida State Prison at the time of his arrest, but instead was on the easement owned by the Florida Department of Transportation. After motions were filed and negotiations were complete, we were able to get a successful outcome for our client. These are just two potential defenses to a protest case. If you are arrested during a protest, please remember to exercise your right to remain silent and contact our office immediately so our attorneys can begin presenting your defenses as early as possible.