Despite Harsh Description, Federal Court Leaves Protest Area Unchanged at Democratic Convention

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOSTON - Despite describing the protest pen at the Democratic National Convention as little more than an ""internment"" camp, a federal appeals court today denied an appeal of a lower court ruling that left the protest area unchanged.

""We are deeply disappointed that the political convention here in Boston has been marred by a ruling that fundamentally undermines freedom of speech and assembly,"" said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts.  

""It is ironic that the principles of free speech and public participation in the democratic process have been abandoned on the doorstep of a national political party convention,"" Rose said.

The ruling by the First Circuit Court of Appeals came in an appeal filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Boston Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

For more information about the ACLU of Massachusetts' activities during the Democratic Convention see:  http://www.aclu-mass.org