Supreme Court To Hear Evangelist’s Religious Freedom Case

On December 3, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an important religious freedom case brought by Gabriel Olivier, a Christian evangelist who was arrested for telling others about Jesus at a public park in Brandon, Mississippi.

Six years ago, the city built a new amphitheater in a 250 acre park, The Quarry. As First Liberty, a Christian legal aid group, explained in a summary of the case:

“Gabriel (Gabe) Olivier is a Christian who is passionate about his faith and obliged to tell others about the hope and love he has found in Jesus Christ. He often stands in public places near well-attended events where he can peaceably share the gospel with as many people as possible.”

But the City of Brandon passed an ordinance limiting “protests” or “demonstrations” to a 10-by-10-foot space, 100 yards away from the venue. The city included “oral dialogue, signs, literature, expressive clothing, or one-on-one conversations” – including religious speech – in its definition of “protests.”

Here’s the tiny “free speech zone,” outlined in white, far from the amphitheater.

First Liberty said, “Gabe and his small group walked to the designated ‘protest zone’ where the city would have them stand and evangelize.”

But the group found that “no one could hear or see them while confined to the box, much less converse with or accept literature from them, rendering their outreach efforts useless,” so they moved closer to the amphitheater.

First Liberty explained what happened next:

“But since this practical evangelism ran counter to the ordinance, a police officer soon arrested Gabe for violating the law and took him away in a squad car. He pled “no contest” to the charge – which was not an admission of guilt – and paid the $304 fine.”

Olivier challenged the city’s statute, but “the district court dismissed his constitutional claim without even considering its merits.”

He appealed the case, but he was denied a hearing.

“A Fifth Circuit panel, on appeal, affirmed the lower court, and the entire Fifth Circuit declined to hear the case by a 9 to 8 vote.”

“These courts relied on a U.S. Supreme Court case, Heck v. Humphrey, that held a prisoner could not bring a constitutional claim challenging verdict or sentencing and must instead turn to a form of relief known as habeas corpus – a recourse only available for prisoners – so as not to overturn the guilty verdict of the state criminal court.”

As First Liberty pointed out, Olivier was not a prisoner seeking to overturn a criminal verdict, and he hadn’t been found guilty of a crime.

Still, the courts refused to even consider the City of Brandon’s unconstitutional denial of Olivier’s First Amendment rights, and “Gabe Olivier was effectively denied his day in Court.”

First Liberty and the law firm Gibson Dunn appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which accepted the case in July.

Allyson Ho, a partner at Gibson Dunn and volunteer attorney with First Liberty, will represent Olivier before the court. First Liberty described her as “a seasoned and elite litigator, adding, “She has presented over 100 oral arguments in federal and state courts nationwide, including six high-stakes business cases before the Supreme Court.”

The case is important, as First Liberty explained, because Olivier was denied his First Amendment rights – and then stripped of the ability to defend those freedoms in court.

“Constitutional rights mean little if we cannot assert them in court. We need the Supreme Court to bring clarity to a Heck precedent that is being wrongly applied to keep people from enjoining unconstitutional laws that persist in violating their rights. Everyone deserves their day in court, especially when First Amendment rights are at stake,” the Christian legal aid group explained.

We wish Gabriel Olivier well as he works to protect his religious liberty and free speech.

This is a case where we are definitely not saying, “Let’s go Brandon!”

The case is: Gabriel Olivier v. City of Brandon.

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