| Court protects missionaries, solicitors | ||
| Permits not required for door-to-door visits, justices say |
| WASHINGTON, June 17 The Constitution protects the right of missionaries, politicians and others to knock on doors without first getting permission from local authorities, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The court also strengthened the power of police to search people in public, ruling that authorities do not have to tell passengers on public transportation that they have a right to decline to be searched. |
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| By a vote of 8-1, the court reasoned that the First Amendment right to free speech includes the entitlement to take a message or idea directly to someones door.
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THE RULING PROTECTING solicitors is a victory for the Jehovahs Witnesses, whose religion calls for doorstep proselytizing. The court struck down a local law that leaders of a small Ohio town said was meant to protect elderly residents from being bothered at home. By a vote of 8-1, the court reasoned that the First Amendment right to free speech includes the entitlement to take a message or idea directly to someones door, and that the right cannot be limited by a requirement to register by name ahead of time. The mere fact that the ordinance covers so much speech raises constitutional concerns, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for himself and Justices Sandra Day OConnor, Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Sootier, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. It is offensive, not only to the values protected by the First Amendment, but to the very notion of a free society, that in the context of everyday public discourse a citizen must first inform the government of her desire to speak to her neighbors and then obtain a permit to do so. Two of the courts most conservative justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, agreed only with the outcome of the case and did not sign on to Stevens reasoning. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist dissented. LAW TOO BROAD |
The village of Stratton, Ohio, required a permit for any door-to-door soliciting by salesmen or anyone else. Theoretically, Girl Scouts would have to get such a permit to sell cookies, as would a candidate for the school board or a student raising money for a class trip.
The majority in Mondays case said the law was too broad. Had it been much more narrowly written to guard against unwanted sales calls, it might have withstood constitutional scrutiny, Stevens wrote.
People who do not want to listen to a political candidate or other canvasser need not do so, the court said. Residents may post a No Solicitations sign at the door, or simply refuse to engage in conversation.
The court also rejected the towns claim that the law helped prevent crime. There is no evidence that a criminal casing a neighborhood would be deterred by the need to get a permit, the court said.