The U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, currently has the lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service regulation that prohibits petitioning on interior postal sidewalks. As of July 19, all the briefs have been filed. The case is Initiative and Referendum Institute v U.S. Postal Service, 10-5337. This case was first filed in 2000 and was delayed for years by a U.S. District Court Judge, who finally ruled in favor of the Postal Service on September 8, 2010. Only after he ruled was the case permitted to go to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Is this case THE longest election law case EVER in the U.S.A — due to a robot party hack judge ???
This case decided in the United States Court of Appeals For The District of Columbia Circuit on July 17, 2015 in favor of the plaintiffs. However, I am having difficulty following the chain of events regarding the actual regulations to date.
I was told I could not stand outside the entry to our local post office to distribute leaflets/flyers with information concerning a ballot measure that had little exposure to the citizens who then were in danger of making uninformed decisions on the measure.
I kept close to the building wall, out of the way of foot traffic and was very polite…the feedback from the citizens was very positive.
The Postmistress in this case told me I could not continue on Post Office property and when I resisted, she called law enforcement and I was subjected the threat of citation or arrest if I refused to comply. I was also told that if I returned again, I would be taken into custody.
This all happened in Brookings, Oregon…
No doubt I want to get total clarification from the federal level as to the issue. I have contacted my U.S. Congressman for assistance.