Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 22
Boasberg Dismisses Pro-Life Chalk Case Again, Denying Jury Trial for 2nd Time
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 22

Boasberg Dismisses Pro-Life Chalk Case Again, Denying Jury Trial for 2nd Time

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 22

Summary

  • Judge James Boasberg again threw out claims by the Frederick Douglass Foundation and Students for Life, blocking a jury trial over arrests for chalking “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” in Washington.
  • The ruling turned on Boasberg’s finding that the groups were not similarly situated to Black Lives Matter protesters and had not shown officers witnessed comparable defacement during 2020 protests.
  • The plaintiffs say discovery produced body-camera video, other footage and police testimony showing officers watched BLM-related graffiti but made no arrests, and they have appealed to the D.C. Circuit again.
  • That appellate court had already revived the First Amendment claim once, saying Boasberg used the wrong legal standard by requiring proof of “invidious enforcement” rather than viewpoint discrimination.

Insights

How can citizens prove officials selectively enforced laws against their speech while claiming their actions were neutral?
At what point does a judge's power to dismiss a case infringe on the constitutional right to a jury trial?