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ALCU's letter to City re: Ordinance
November 14th, 2003
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via facsimile transmission
Alejandro Vilarello, City Attorney
City of Miami City Attorney's Office
444 S.W. 2nd Avenue, Suite 945
Miami, Florida 33133
Dear Mr. Vilarello:
As you know, the Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Florida is deeply troubled by the breadth of the parade and public
assembly ordinance passed yesterday by the Miami City Commission. We
believe this ordinance gives police officers unfettered discretion about
who can be arrested during next week's FTAA protests.
While the Police Department has offered assurances that it will not use
the ordinance to violate the First Amendment rights of protestors, we
intend to carefully monitor the ordinance*s use. We are particularly
concerned about the use of the ordinance to interfere with
constitutional rights where an object is a material part of the message
being conveyed or as a device to select out leaders to remove them from a
demonstration.
We are, however, interested in addressing issues as they arise in an
effort to make sure that the ordinance is not utilized in an
unconstitutional manner. To that end, we ask that you give us the name,
phone number and fax number of a designated individual that can be
reached at any time to discuss concerns about specific incidents as they
arise and who would be authorized to accept legal papers should we be
unable to resolve problems without legal action. Please fax that
information to 305-576-****.
Sincerely,
Lida Rodriguez-Taseff
President, Miami Chapter
ACLU of Florida
Randall C. Marshall
Legal Director
ACLU of Florida
cc: Mayor, City Manager, City Commission, Chief of Police
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