NYC parade permit law is struck down

NEW YORK - A law that regulates how New York City grants permits for
rallies and parades is unconstitutional, a federal judge has ruled. US
District Judge Leonard Sand said the law lacks guidelines on when police
must respond to a permit request, and thus does not sufficiently restrict
the risk of censorship.

A law that allows police to ''routinely grant applications either
immediately or only after extensive delay is dangerous precisely because it
lacks consistency and predictability,'' the judge wrote Monday. The case
grew out of a dispute involving a planned march by the 1998 Marijuana March
Organization in May. The permit process for that event took months, and the
march never took place.

By contrast, a permit for the parade for astronaut John Glenn, held Monday
in lower Manhattan, was granted in a few days.

Richard Wilson, a lawyer who represented plaintiff Robert MacDonald, called
the judge's decision a victory for the First Amendment. City lawyers were
still studying the ruling and were not ready to comment, said their
spokeswoman, Lorna Goodman.

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has tussled with groups seeking permission to
hold parades, including a black effort to hold the ''Million Youth March''
in Harlem.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski