MYERS & COMPANY
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
Not many First Amendment cases get filed. The vast majority—maybe 99 percent—get dismissed. But ours didn’t.
We tried an important First Amendment case in the federal courthouse in Richland.
Our client went to the Walla Walla Fair. She was wearing a red hat with the letters SLYA on the crown.
SLYA stands for “Support Your Local Amigo.” The Amigos are a motorcycle club.
The Fair has been around for over 150 years. It’s where the community gathers. It draws every type of person that lives in Walla Walla:
Young and Old
White and Brown
Democrats and Republicans
PHDs and GEDs
Pro-Choice and Pro-Life
Because she wasn’t able to afford to go as a kid our client was excited to attend with her husband and stepson.
Our client wore that hat because her husband was an Amigo. Because the club was important to him, it was important to her.
She had seen the way law enforcement in Walla Walla had treated the Amigos. Law enforcement had posted-up at charity events just hoping to catch someone doing something wrong.
The way law enforcement treated the Amigos made her feel bad. She didn’t like the insinuation that her husband was a gang member just because he rode a motorcycle.
A couple years earlier Walla Walla had adopted a Dress Code for the Fair. Walla Walla explained that it instituted the Dress Code to make sure the Fair provided a welcoming, family friendly venue for all members of the community. But that wasn’t the only reason. Documents revealed that Walla Walla was concerned with revenues.
One eye was on censorship. The other on the bottom line.
The Dress Code had a whole section on what it called Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. One of the sub-sections was entitled “Amigos.” The Dress Code specified that anything with the initials SYLA could not be worn to the Fair.
So our client gets to the Fair. She wants to enjoy the welcoming, family friendly venue. And she wants to send a message to a very targeted audience: law enforcement.
The way motorcycle clubs in general were treated by law enforcement was unfair.
The way the Amigos were treated by Walla Walla law enforcement was unfair.
It was unfair to treat her or her husband like gang members.
Our client and her family were at the Fair for about an hour. They were having a great time. It felt good to be part of the community. Then, from out of nowhere, she heard a deputy yell at them.
Six or seven deputies approach. Everyone’s looking at her. And her husband. And her stepson.
Deputies tell her she can’t wear the hat. It violates the Dress Code. She has to leave.
They say you can’t fight city hall. But that’s exactly what she did. She filed suit because what the County did violated her First Amendment rights.
The County spent a tremendous amount of money trying to get the case dismissed. It wasn’t. It went to trial. Many witnesses were called. Both sides rested and waited for the Court’s decision.
But the writing was on the wall. The Judge had asked very pointed questions about the mixed motives for the Dress Code. It wasn’t just about public safety. It was also about money.
Rather than wait for the Court’s ruling the County agreed to repeal the Dress Code and make a substantial monetary payment including attorney fees.
Two claps for our client’s willingness to fight City Hall and the First Amendment that allows us to speak and assemble.