Woman sticks to her rights

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005 | 10:56 a.m.

If you want to know the political leanings of Norys Beni-Hall, look no further than bumper stickers adorning the vintage, multicolored Volkswagen van parked outside her North Las Vegas home.

There's one informing President Bush that the mission has actually not been accomplished and another pronouncing arms are for hugging. And then there's the one reading "F--- War."

It's that last message that apparently riled someone enough to call the city and complain. Beni-Hall found a notice in her front door last week informing her she was in violation of the city's prohibition against "obscene matter and conduct." She was given until Monday to remove the bumper sticker or the notice would be upgraded to a misdemeanor citation, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.

"I was very surprised," said Beni-Hall, a North Las Vegas resident for five years. "To my understanding this is protected free speech."

After an inquiry by the Sun, North Las Vegas city officials apparently agreed with Beni-Hall's assessment.

"The city attorney's office has reviewed the facts of the case and the ordinance and determined the alleged conduct is not in violation of any North Las Vegas laws," city spokeswoman Brenda Johnson said Tuesday. "Therefore, no additional action will be taken and this matter will be dropped."

Johnson said code enforcement officers went to Beni-Hall's residence after receiving a citizen complaint. Sheldon Klain, code enforcement manager for North Las Vegas, said it was the first time he could recall such an application of the city's anti-obscenity code in his six-year tenure, according to Johnson.

Gary Peck, executive director of the Nevada ACLU which sent a letter on Beni-Hall's behalf to the code enforcement department Friday, commended North Las Vegas City Attorney Sean McGowan for his swift action but said it was unfortunate the situation occurred at all.

"If people don't know what their rights are and don't know how to assert them, they can often times be pushed around," Peck said. "It's up to the city to train its officials and code enforcement officers so that they know what the law is and individuals are not put in the position that Ms. Beni-Hall was facing."

Beni-Hall, 58, described herself as a lifelong anti-war activist, a homemaker and mother of three grown children. Prior to the city's notice Beni-Hall said she was unaware of any complaints about the messages on her vehicle. Her son, an attorney in California, offered his "pro bono" services, Beni-Hall said.

"He told me, 'Mom, I'm ready to come down there and file in (U.S.) District Court if we need to,' " Beni-Hall said. "I'm glad I don't have to worry about this anymore."

Allen Lichtenstein, attorney for the Nevada ACLU, said Beni-Hall's bumper sticker clearly met the threshold of protected political speech under the "Miller test," a standard for determining obscenity that evolved out of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1973.

In fact the city of North Las Vegas' municipal code uses the three prongs of the Miller test to define what is "obscene:" that the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find it appeals to prurient interest in sex; that sexual acts are represented or described in a patently offensive manner; and that, "when taken as a whole ... lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value."

In the context of Beni-Hall's bumper sticker, the word "isn't being used to describe sex but dissatisfaction with current events," Lichtenstein said.

"The reality is while certain people might find the message offensive that isn't enough to override the right to free speech," Lichtenstein said.

Thomas McAffee, a professor at Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, said he wasn't surprised by the city attorney's decision to tear up the warning notice. But, McAffee said, he also wouldn't have been surprised if the charges had gone forward.

While Beni-Hall's bumper sticker may have survived the Miller test, it is ultimately the community as a whole that determines its own standards, McAffee said.

"It's a good thing to have these kinds of public debates," said McAffee, who specializes in constitutional law. "That's what free speech really means."