Appeals Court rules Dallas must allow conspiracy vendors at Dealey Plaza

[Adele Edisen]

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Appeals Court rules Dallas must allow conspiracy vendors at Dealey Plaza


Tue, March 5, 2013 7:38:04 PM
Appeals Court rules Dallas must allow conspiracy vendors at Dealey Plaza
From: Ed T

> Court rules Dallas must allow conspiracy vendors at Dealey Plaza.
>
> by BRAD WATSON
> WFAA
> Updated today at 6:07 PM
>
> (The case was decided by Judge Kristin Wade, of the Dallas County Criminal
> Court of Appeals.)
>
> DALLAS -- An appellate court ruled Tuesday that the city of Dallas must stop
> an enforcement effort against JFK conspiracy vendors selling materials at
> Dealey Plaza ahead of the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination.
>
> The Dallas County Criminal Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Robert Groden,
> a longtime conspiracy theorist and vendor who was arrested in
> 2010 for selling merchandise in Dealey Plaza. The appellate court upheld a
> lower court's decision to toss the city's case out.
>
> "It's a matter of free speech, it's a First Amendment issue," Groden said.
> "The city wanted us out of here; it didn't want anyone giving an alternative
> point of view about the Kennedy assassination."
>
> Workers are already laying new sod at Dealey Plaza in an effort to upgrade
> the area before Nov. 22, the anniversary of John F. Kennedy's death. In
> 2010, police arrested Groden for selling merchandise at a park, claiming
> that vendors harassed visitors.
>
> But the judge pointed out that the city doesn't list Dealey Plaza as a park,
> and there wasn't a way to get a sales permit. The city told News 8 it won't
> appeal further.
>
> So the vendors remain and some visitors like Peter Crowell from Punta Gorda,
> Fla., support them.
>
> "Well, first of all, it's the United States of America. You know, I mean,
> these are all protected rights that we all have," he said.
>
> Since Groden's arrest, the City Council revised the law to allow the sale of
> First Amendment-protected items.
>
> On the anniversary, The 50th Committee expects 5,000 tickets to be available
> for the event. About two thirds of those will be handed out to the public at
> random. But Groden is already skeptical if conspiracy buffs will be
> included.
>
> "Who determines who gets the tickets?," Groden wondered.
>
> The Dealey Plaza renovation should be finished by the end of March,
> according to the contractor, Dallas-based Phoenix Restoration and
> Construction.

Adele