On October 7, 2013, AFLC filed a complaint on behalf of its clients AFDI, Pamela Geller, and Robert Spencer after King County refused to allow the following ad to run on county buses that service Seattle:
King County’s refusal was all the more egregious when it had earlier approved an FBI sponsored ad which was almost identical to AFDI’s:
After an evidentiary hearing, the trial judge refused to grant AFLC’s motion for preliminary injunction, and AFLC appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The Court of Appeals, however, put the AFDI v King County case on hold until it resolved an earlier case dealing with similar issues. Unfortunately, that case was briefed and argued on October 3, 2012, and there was still no indication when the Ninth Circuit panel would rule.
As a result, AFLC filed a letter with the Court Clerk and chief administrator attempting to bring this patently unreasonable delay to the attention of those who might be able to nudge the judges along.
The bottom line: to delay a ruling on straightforward First Amendment issues for more than two years is quite plainly outrageous.
Ltr to Clerk of Court 3-12-15 ECF Filed