COURT REOPENS N.Y.C. PARADE PERMIT CHALLENGE

NEW YORK - A federal appeals court Friday gave fresh life to a First
Amendment challenge to the city's parade permit application process,
saying a judge who ruled in favor of the city must review more
evidence before deciding the issue.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the city law governing the
issue "is not sufficiently precise on its face to pass constitutional
muster" but added that the court did not have enough facts to be sure.

It said the case must return to the lower court so both sides can
submit additional evidence regarding the practices of Police
Commissioner Howard Safir and the guidelines used to determine whether
permits are issued.

"There is not enough evidence in the record regarding the practices of
the Police Department in granting parade permits to determine whether
the ordinance is unconstitutional," the appeals court wrote.

The ruling came in a challenge to the parade permit process by a
member of the Million Marijuana March Organization. The lawsuit seeks
a court order to declare that the parade permit law is
unconstitutional.

The lawsuit stems from the city's refusal to allow a group advocating
the legalization of marijuana to parade up Fifth Avenue from
Washington Square Park to Central Park at 96th Street on May 2, 1998.
The New York Police Department had offered an alternative parade route.

U.S. District Judge Leonard B. Sand ordered the city to add language
to its parade permit law setting a time frame for when it would
process and respond to parade requests. The judge rejected the other
claims in the lawsuit.