The Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic and ACLU of Oklahoma filed an amicus brief on behalf of Oklahoma City-based social justice organization Collegiate Freedom & Justice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in support of a constitutional challenge to a recently-enacted Oklahoma anti‑protest bill, HB 1674. This bill restricts individuals’ rights to gather, demonstrate, and protest in Oklahoma’s public streets. At stake in this case is whether the Oklahoma State Legislature can bar protests in public streets.
“The freedoms of speech and assembly are integral to a representative democracy, and it is imperative that courts protect these fundamental rights,” said Olivia Foster, a third-year student at Cornell Law School and amicus brief co-author. Connor Flannery, a second-year law student at Cornell and amicus brief co-author added that, “HB 1674 is a thinly-veiled attempt to silence the type of speech at the core of the First Amendment.”