Constitutional Law

Vendors victorious in dust-up over Venice Beach rules

By By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES ? A federal judge has struck down city regulations governing who gets to sing and sell along crowded Venice Beach in Los Angeles.

U.S. District Judge Dean Pragerson ruled last week that the city's weekly lottery system for distributing permits to boardwalk vendors and performers during the summer season violates the First Amendment.

Pragerson issued a temporary injunction, saying the city should issue permits on a first-come-first-served basis.

The judge also struck down a rule barring amplified sound and musical instruments between 9 a.m. and sunset in certain areas.

The city's 2008 ordinance, which was revised last year, was contested by 13 performers.

Plaintiff and street performer David "Zuma Dogg" Saltsburg told the Los Angeles Times yesterday that the city should have changed the ordinance to address performers? concerns.

"You have to pay a permit fee for free speech, and that's wrong," he was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Local residents and businesses have asked for more regulations of the freewheeling boardwalk.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on October 26, 2010 (boomark / email).