Free-speech ruling gives U.S. parks, Justice pause

If you want to stage a protest or distribute leaflets at one of the 392 national parks, a panel of U.S. Court of Appeals judges says you can do it without obtaining a permit. The Department of Justice and the National Park Service are not sure they agree and are considering an appeal. They have until Sept. 27 to ask for a temporary stay of the ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which last month struck down regulations requiring permission before handing out leaflets or carrying signs.

The Department of Justice "is still considering whether to seek further review in this case," says Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Nate Kellum, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, an organization of Christian attorneys who defend the rights of people to express their faith, says the ruling "means the court has recognized that the First Amendment was all the permit you need to share your views on public property."