Judge Keeton Rules in Favor of the MTBA-
Change the Climate Inc. Will Appeal
posted August 16, 2002
Dear Friend,
A week ago, Judge Robert Keeton, the presiding
judge on Change the Climate's First Amendment case against the
MBTA, ruled that
* advertising on the T is NOT a public forum for the exchange
of free ideas even if the T advertises government anti-drug ads;
* Change the Climate ads "promote the
use of marijuana in subtle ways" instead of fostering public
debate on current issues;
* and the court needs to protect "the
rights of children, as well as parents, for children to use the
T without being exposed to advertisements that promote illegal
behavior or that have messages harmful to children."
Judge Keeton failed to make the correlation
that the T regularly advertises alcohol products, the use of which
is a leading cause of death among teenagers and far more likely
to be abused than marijuana.
Our lawyers are preparing our appeal to the Federal Appeals Court,
one step below the Supreme Court. We anticipate winning on appeal
considering the strength of our First Amendment rights and the
legal consistency developed by our attorneys.
Unfortunately, part of Judge Keeton's order stipulates that he
remain in control of this case to ensure that the T "bring
its advertising guidelines into compliance with the Court's Opinion."
Court observers have been stunned by many comments and actions
taken by the 82 year old judge since he received this case many
months ago.
As a final non-sequitor, Judge Keeton quoted himself: ".
. . you showed me all that series of lurid, tawdry, i could apply
several other adjectives, that forced out the beautiful. Now,
i discern a difference between the lurid, tawdry, and sordid and
the beautiful. And i think it's going to be very difficult to
persuade me that the unvarnished, straightforward truth is always
sordid and never beautiful."
After quoting himself, James Madison and a study of the American
Revolutionary Era, he concluded his order with an "invitation"
to Change the Climate to submit ideas on an advisory board to
"aid the MBTA in understanding and evaluating all the interests,
public and private, that are at stake in the regulation of an
advertiser's proposed use of MBTA space . . . "
Change the Climate needs your support to educate the public using
outdoor and transit advertising. It is easy and I hope you will
take a minute to make an online gift on our secure server at www.changetheclimate.org/supportus.
Thank you for your interest and support!
Joseph White
Change the Climate, Inc.
www.changetheclimate.org
