At a hearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the city of Santa Cruz’s attorney, George Kovacevich, was grilled by the judges over the ejection of Robert Norse from a meeting for giving a Nazi salute. The city claims that the salute was disruptive, but the judges wanted to know if it was the salute itself that was disruptive or whether it was the time at which it was given. Would the salute have been acceptable, they asked, if it had been given during the normal public comment period?
At a hearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the city of Santa Cruz’s attorney, George Kovacevich, was grilled by the judges over the ejection of Robert Norse from a meeting for giving a Nazi salute. The city claims that the salute was disruptive, but the judges wanted to know if it was the salute itself that was disruptive or whether it was the time at which it was given. Would the salute have been acceptable, they asked, if it had been given during the normal public comment period?
Norse, a well-known provocateur, was delighted by the judges’ line of questioning. “I hope it sends the City Council a message that they can’t punish members of the public that come with dissenting views,” he said.
The court could take a few months before ruling that City Council has the right to eject members of the audience it deems disruptive, or that the case should be sent back to trial. A ruling against Norse could be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
