Dear Friends of Civil Rights,
Thank you for inviting me to come spend time with you at the UNC Center for Civil Rights to talk about our adventures representing Moral Monday protesters. It was such an honor and pleasure to return to the same room
and the same halls were I began my journey as an attorney. Your energy and commitment keeps my fire for justice
burning hot and bright. I had some thoughts about questions that were asked
during the panel and wanted to share those thoughts and ideas with you.
I am glad that David Neal brought portions of the video of
the protest to share with you. I get chills whenever I watch the videos of the
Moral Monday protests. We watched together the power of people coming together for
the common welfare of all. I have many favorite parts of these videos, but we
did not see one of my favorites together. The last people to be arrested huddle
in a small group. They continue to sing songs of protest – We shall overcome –
This little light of mine. They look increasingly anxious as it comes their
turn to be arrested, but they are smiling and singing proudly. One by one, the
sound of the singing gets quieter and quieter until the last person singing is
taken away in handcuffs. As someone
fighting for the right of the People to assemble and to have their voices
heard, I am particularly touched by the physical removal of the people one by
one and the silencing of their voices with arrest.
There seemed to be an interest in the legal arguments that
we are making in Court, but we did not really get into those arguments during
our time together. The essence of our argument is that the Article I Section 12
of the North Carolina creates a public space inside the General Assembly where
people can gather to make their concerns heard. Article I Section 12 of the
North Carolina Constitution provides:” The people have a right to assemble
together to consult for their common good, to instruct their representatives,
and to apply to the General Assembly for redress of grievances; but secret
political societies are dangerous to the liberties of a free people and shall
not be tolerated.“
Chief Weaver allowed protesters to enter the second floor
rotunda of the General Assembly knowing they were going to engage in political
speech. Legislative rules prohibited gatherings of people on the second floor,
and specifically prohibited signs communicating messages on political issues.
The rules did not establish a regulation with clearly established objective
standards for regulating speech. Chief Weaver ordered the crowd to leave the
premises when he determined the group violated the legislative rules and had “disturbed”
the General Assembly.
The order to leave the premises was unconstitutional because
protesters were engaging in protected political speech in a forum designated by
the North Carolina Constitution and by Chief Weaver as a public area where the
protest could occur. Chief Weaver’s order was unconstitutional because he
exercised unfettered discretion in the enforcement of vague and overbroad
legislative rules which were not content neutral. The rules specifically prohibit signs which
advocate for or against political issues, but not other signs. Because the
State cannot show the order silencing the protesters was necessary to serve a
compelling state interest, the order to leave was unconstitutional. There was no evidence that any legislator or
staff member was actually disrupted in the performance of their duty, and so
there is no basis to order these People to leave the People’s house.
I am honored to represent so many prophets and heroes. They
have ignited me and help me begin to envision new ways for lawyers to transform
our state into a more inclusive and compassionate society. As community lawyers we are learning new ways
of empowering voices, raising consciousness, and collaborating for freedom. It
is certainly an exciting time to be a lawyer in North Carolina, and I look
forward to welcoming you to the plentiful work to be done around our State.
Peace
Scott Holmes
