U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts ruled on September 8 in a case filed by the Initiative and Referendum Institute against the U.S. Postal Service. The Postal Service had banned petition circulators from the sidewalks surrounding its buildings, and in 2000, the I&R Institute sued. In 2003, Judge Roberts upheld the Postal Service ban, but an appeals court intervened in 2005, saying that petitioning on perimeter sidewalks -- those paralleling the street -- could not be restricted, and sent the case back to Judge Roberts to determine the treatment of the sidewalks between the perimeter and Postal Service buildings.
Judge Roberts found last week that the Postal Service was justified in banning petition circulators on interior sidewalks. It is unclear at this time whether the I&R Institute will appeal. Read the opinion here.
Comments