Title: Innocent Woman Detained by Police & Ticketed — for Reciting Poetry on the Sidewalk Source:
Free Thought Project/Denver7 – The Denver Channel URL Source:http://thefreethoughtproject.com/wo ... -sidewalk/#fy9MBSplhJfYsbOI.99 Published:Jan 17, 2017 Author:Matt Agorist Post Date:2017-01-18 08:49:22 by Deckard Keywords:None Views:3378 Comments:27
Riverside, CA — The state of California has long since waged a war on anyone who dares attempt to make a dollar by performing on the street. While some of these ordinances are in place for public safety, others are outright asinine and are a clear violation of constitutional rights. The latest example of this violation comes out of the city of Palm Springs in which a woman was arrested for reciting impromptu poetry.
Amy Marschak is a published writer from Colorado who performs impromptu poetry in public. For her one-of-a-kind street performances, she dons a Victorian dress and she takes requests from her listeners. For example, a pair of lovers on their first date might ask her to compose a poem on the spot to describe their meeting and their feelings for one another.
She’s been featured on local news stations and has performed across the United States. She sets up no table, does not block any paths, and performs upon request.
On March 13, 2015, Marschak was detained and issued a citation by Palm Springs police officer, Erik Larson. Larson issued this citation because Marschak was performing poetry in a public area.
Larson stated that citizens were “not supposed to” perform on the streets of Palm Springs, and that street performing was “against the law…”
She was given a ticket by Defendant Larson that cited an ordinance prohibiting “sitting or lying” on a sidewalk (which she was not doing), later amended to a citation under the local ordinance that prohibits “obstructing” a public sidewalk (which she also was not doing). Around the same period of time, Plaintiff observed that other street performers were also being persecuted by Defendant Larson and other City of Palm Springs police officers on similarly spurious grounds.
After being issued a note of extortion by police for speaking words on a public sidewalk, Marschak felt violated. So, she retained an attorney and fought the ticket. She later won her case, however, Marschak has since filed a lawsuit because she now fears, rightfully so, that she will be arrested or cited again for reciting poetry on the sidewalk.
According to the lawsuit, Marschak alleges her constitutional rights were violated. She is now seeking to affirm and vindicate the fundamental constitutional rights of street performers to express themselves freely in the public areas of Palm Springs without fear of harassment by local police.
Marschak’s battle is a noble one as more and more street performers are finding themselves in legal trouble for doing nothing other than brightening people’s days as they walk by.
Last month the Free Thought Project reported on the story of a California man who was ticketed for juggling. Reporters with The Jones/Skelton Report, Joff and Alex, out of Santa Cruz, filmed police citing a man for juggling on the sidewalk. When Alex asked the officer if he was really citing the man for this non-offense, the officer confirmed that he was indeed citing the man for juggling — because throwing balls to yourself is banned.
The list of things in the United States to do that are illegal is ever increasing at an absurd rate. From walking across the street to riding a bicycle, ordinances across the nation, enforced through the barrel of a gun, continue to cause undue pain and suffering for otherwise innocent Americans on a daily basis. Now, it seems, that even poetry is not safe.
City of Palm Springs’ Municipal Code Section 12.12.050 (Loitering – Obstructing traffic) reads:
“It is unlawful for any person to stand upon any street, sidewalk, or other public way open for pedestrian travel, or otherwise occupy any portion thereof in such a manner as to annoy or molest any pedestrian thereon, or so as to obstruct or unreasonably interfere with the free passage of pedestrians, motor vehicles, or other modes of travel.”
She was asked to leave the sidewalk. Instead, she argued with the cop about her constitutional rights. So he wrote her a ticket.
