Street preacher gets Supreme Court go-ahead for fight to protest at concerts
Source: Courthouse News Service
March 20, 2026
WASHINGTON (CN) Despite a 30-year-old precedent by originalisms chief architect, the Supreme Court ruled Friday to allow an evangelical street protesters lawsuit against a city ordinance that limits protests around concert venues. Heck v. Humphrey , a 1994 ruling authored by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, typically bars defendants from using civil rights claims to undermine prior convictions. But Gabriel Olivier asked the Supreme Court to greenlight his suit against a Brandon, Mississippi, ordinance because he was only requesting prospective relief.
The high court agreed. In a unanimous ruling led by Justice Elena Kagan, a Barack Obama appointee, the court held that Oliviers suit could proceed because he wasnt trying to attack his old conviction or risk parallel litigation on his prior conduct.The suit, after all, is not about what Olivier did in the past, and depends on no proof addressed to his prior conviction, Kagan wrote. Unlike in Heck , the suit merely attempts to prevent a future prosecution. So the Heck bar does not come into play.
Olivier was arrested for demonstrating outside of a designated protest area at Brandons amphitheater before a Lee Brice concert in 2021. Olivier and other church colleagues instead stood at a busy intersection holding large signs that depicted aborted fetuses, using a loudspeaker to call patrons whores and Jezebels.
A municipal court issued a fine and put Olivier on unsupervised probation, as long as he didnt violate the city ordinance for a year. Olivier didnt appeal his conviction. While on probation, Olivier filed civil rights claims against the city, claiming the ordinance violated his First and 14th amendment rights.
Read more: https://courthousenews.com/street-preacher-gets-supreme-court-go-ahead-for-fight-to-protest-at-concerts/
REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143576370
RussBLib
(10,608 posts)Amen!! Hallelujah, whore!
(Sigh)
Wonder Why
(6,909 posts)I think his words are obscene but that's the price I am willing to pay for your and my right to say obscene things about the Fat Pig.
The ACLU has long fought for free speech.
A lot of Americans have died for that right.
wolfie001
(7,600 posts)Especially the religious wack-jobs. Liberal protestors can be shot on sight. With bullets, smoke grenades, lethal rubber bullets, tear gas, audio terror tools, ect. ect. Definitely one-sided because of the 6 piles of shit on the SC.
58Sunliner
(6,320 posts)Quanto Magnus
(1,345 posts)the looney religious zealots...
'street preacher' ????
melm00se
(5,159 posts)The lower court rejected the case contrary to existing precedent under Heck v. Humphrey.
The Supreme Court, unanimously, said, "Nuh-uh. Oliviers suit seeking purely prospective reliefan injunction stopping officials from enforcing an ordinance in the futurecan proceed, notwithstanding Oliviers prior conviction for violating that ordinance; Heck does not hold otherwise."
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-993_10n2.pdf
CurtEastPoint
(20,001 posts)
twodogsbarking
(18,621 posts)Polybius
(21,869 posts)9-0 rulings are always good to see.
58Sunliner
(6,320 posts)I bet he says some bullshit about punishing them which would be a threat and should be illegal.