Constitutional Rights Constantly in Jeopardy
From: David Roland Sent: Apr 22, 2011 6:17 PM Subject: FCMo Update - April 2011
Friends of the Freedom Center,
Has our nation really come to the point where Girl Scouts have to get the government's permission before setting up a cookie stand in their own driveway?
The City of Hazelwood sure thinks so! Prompted by a neighbor who complained that her dogs were barking at cars that stopped to buy cookies, Hazelwood city officials told the Mills family that city ordinances prohibited the front-yard stand that Caitlin and Abigail have operated for a few weeks in each of the past six years. And why does the City feel like it needs to take a hard line against these Girl Scouts? Because if they can have a cookie stand on their property, "the neighbors who need extra money to feed their families [could] each set up mini stores in their front yards." You read that correctly - the City is arguing that it needs the authority to prevent poor people from using their property to earn money to feed their families. That's why on April 7th the Freedom Center of Missouri filed suit against Hazelwood on behalf of the Mills family. In Mills v. City of Hazelwood, we're asking the courts to rule that if constitutional protection for property rights means anything, it means that families cannot be prevented from having something so simple and harmless as a cookie stand in their front yard. This case has generated media interest nationwide, including the opportunity for our clients to be interviewed on Fox & Friends and MSNBC!
In our other cases, we're continuing to prepare for May 10, when we'll try to convince the Missouri Supreme Court that even occupational licensing laws cannot avoid the constitution's protections for free speech, and we are pleased to announce that the Freedom Center recently won two important victories on behalf of Brooke Gray in her fight against the Veterinary Medical Board. While we have not yet been able to ensure that Brooke's case will be heard by a jury of her peers, the judge rejected both the Attorney General's request to limit the evidence she is permitted to introduce at trial and the Attorney General's effort to prevent us from arguing her constitutional defenses against the government's action. The next hearing in Brooke's case will be May 16, when we will argue that the case should be thrown out because the government violated its own statute in filing its lawsuit. As always, you can get a good idea of what we are up to by checking out www.mofreedom.org or visiting our Facebook page!
For those of you who are already contributing to our efforts, we cannot thank you enough and we hope you are so pleased with our work that you will continue doing so. If you have not yet become a donor, please consider doing so even if you can only give a little. Our ability to keep up this fight will depend on people like you being willing to provide the Freedom Center with financial support, and every little bit truly makes a big difference. You can make a donation online at this link. Our cases are the front lines in Missouri's battle for individual liberty and limited government, and no other organization in the state is using our combination of research, litigation, and public relations to illustrate the vital importance of adhering to constitutional principles. Thank you very much for standing with us in this fight!
For Liberty,
Dave Roland
Director of Litigation
Freedom Center of Missouri
P.O. Box 300464
St. Louis, Missouri 63130
Phone: (314) 604-6621
Fax: (314) 720-0989
Email: dave@mofreedom.org
Friends of the Freedom Center,
Has our nation really come to the point where Girl Scouts have to get the government's permission before setting up a cookie stand in their own driveway?
The City of Hazelwood sure thinks so! Prompted by a neighbor who complained that her dogs were barking at cars that stopped to buy cookies, Hazelwood city officials told the Mills family that city ordinances prohibited the front-yard stand that Caitlin and Abigail have operated for a few weeks in each of the past six years. And why does the City feel like it needs to take a hard line against these Girl Scouts? Because if they can have a cookie stand on their property, "the neighbors who need extra money to feed their families [could] each set up mini stores in their front yards." You read that correctly - the City is arguing that it needs the authority to prevent poor people from using their property to earn money to feed their families. That's why on April 7th the Freedom Center of Missouri filed suit against Hazelwood on behalf of the Mills family. In Mills v. City of Hazelwood, we're asking the courts to rule that if constitutional protection for property rights means anything, it means that families cannot be prevented from having something so simple and harmless as a cookie stand in their front yard. This case has generated media interest nationwide, including the opportunity for our clients to be interviewed on Fox & Friends and MSNBC!
In our other cases, we're continuing to prepare for May 10, when we'll try to convince the Missouri Supreme Court that even occupational licensing laws cannot avoid the constitution's protections for free speech, and we are pleased to announce that the Freedom Center recently won two important victories on behalf of Brooke Gray in her fight against the Veterinary Medical Board. While we have not yet been able to ensure that Brooke's case will be heard by a jury of her peers, the judge rejected both the Attorney General's request to limit the evidence she is permitted to introduce at trial and the Attorney General's effort to prevent us from arguing her constitutional defenses against the government's action. The next hearing in Brooke's case will be May 16, when we will argue that the case should be thrown out because the government violated its own statute in filing its lawsuit. As always, you can get a good idea of what we are up to by checking out www.mofreedom.org or visiting our Facebook page!
For those of you who are already contributing to our efforts, we cannot thank you enough and we hope you are so pleased with our work that you will continue doing so. If you have not yet become a donor, please consider doing so even if you can only give a little. Our ability to keep up this fight will depend on people like you being willing to provide the Freedom Center with financial support, and every little bit truly makes a big difference. You can make a donation online at this link. Our cases are the front lines in Missouri's battle for individual liberty and limited government, and no other organization in the state is using our combination of research, litigation, and public relations to illustrate the vital importance of adhering to constitutional principles. Thank you very much for standing with us in this fight!
For Liberty,
Dave Roland
Director of Litigation
Freedom Center of Missouri
P.O. Box 300464
St. Louis, Missouri 63130
Phone: (314) 604-6621
Fax: (314) 720-0989
Email: dave@mofreedom.org
posted by ERIC REICHERT at 9:20 AM
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