Overview

• On July 3, the Supreme Court agreed to revive Gabriel Olivier’s challenge and will hear arguments in the fall, with a ruling due by next summer.
• Olivier contends that an ordinance requiring protests to take place in a designated zone and banning loudspeakers audible past 100 feet violates his First Amendment rights.
• Federal judges dismissed his lawsuit under Heck v. Humphrey, finding that civil claims are barred when success would imply invalidating his criminal conviction.
• The City of Brandon maintains that the ordinance protects public order after Olivier’s group used a loudspeaker to shout insults at pedestrians near the amphitheater.
• Represented by First Liberty Institute, Olivier seeks clarification on whether a no-contest plea should preclude civil-rights suits and habeas relief for nonincarcerated defendants.