Both sides hail Fremont Street free-speech ruling

Denise Cardinal

Wednesday, April 29, 1998 | 10:03 a.m.

In what both sides are calling a partial victory, U.S. District Judge David Hagen ruled Monday that the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas is not a public street.

Last fall the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint against the city of Las Vegas for infringement of First Amendment rights.

In the complaint, the ACLU alleged that the city and the Fremont Street Experience Corp., which manages the street, illegally prohibited free speech activities. The ACLU also alleged that the Fremont Street Experience is a public street, and that free speech activities are protected.

Fremont Street, a casino-lined street in downtown Las Vegas, was turned into a pedestrian mall in 1995. A canopy that features light shows every night also was constructed over the street, which was partially paid for by the city of Las Vegas, and the name was changed to the Fremont Street Experience.

The city handed over ownership to the Fremont Street Experience Limited Liability Corp. -- a for-profit organization made up of downtown casino owners. As part of that agreement, the corporation used its own security firm to monitor the pedestrian mall and didn't allow demonstrators or solicitors within the Fremont Street Experience. It also prohibited the distribution of handbills.

"I think it (the ruling) is actually very good for Fremont Street," Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones said about Hagen's decision. "It's not a public forum ... which means we can control the environment."

On the other side of the issue, Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU's Nevada Chapter, said Hagen's ruling wasn't a loss for the organization, which plans on taking the decision to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The reason: Hagen also filed a preliminary injunction allowing demonstrators to give speeches, hand out leaflets or sell novelties related to their organization on Fremont Street, Peck said.

"While we did not win on every issue, we consider this a great victory for civil liberties and civil libertarians in Las Vegas," he said.

City Attorney Bill Henry and attorney for the Fremont Street Experience Todd Bice disagreed with Peck's interpretation of the injunction. They contend that the Hagen only wanted to clarify some specifics of the city's ordinances regarding handbilling and vending within the mall.

"We're quite pleased with the decision," Bice said. "The principal issue in this case is whether the Fremont Street Experience constitutes a public forum or a non-public forum. That's the nuts and bolts of this case, and Judge Hagen ruled that this is a non-public forum. That's a very significant ruling."

Attorney for the ACLU, Allen Lichtenstein, said the 29-page ruling was "very complex," a characterization that opposing attorneys shared.

"It's an order that is still being analyzed," Henry said. "Some things are going to require further examination."

The case, which is still not closed, will proceed on two levels. Regarding Hagen's preliminary injunction, both sides will proceed in district court. The ACLU will be appealing Hagen's decision on Fremont Street as a non-public forum to the court of appeals. Both processes will take several months.

"We feel very confident that we will prevail at the 9th Circuit," Lichtenstein said. "We're happy for those particular aspects of the case ruled in our favor. And we feel comfortable and confident we'll win."