City Council President Kevin Hyde made the following statement regarding the decision received today from Judge Schlesinger in the Jackie Brown v. City of Jacksonville case.

'I have reviewed Judge Schlesinger's decision and respect the Court opinion. This case turned out to be a case of 'first impression' and it is one worthy of judicial scrutiny.

On November 22, 2005, Ms. Brown was removed from City Council chambers for violating Council rules during public comment. As a result of her conduct, she was subsequently arrested for resisting an officer and disturbing a lawful assembly. I appreciate Judge Schlesinger's finding that Council Rule 4.505 is facially valid, that the president of the Council, had and exercised a 'significant governmental interest' in removing Ms. Brown from the meeting, and that those actions 'properly served a sufficiently significant governmental interest that justified banning her from that particular meeting.' As a result of her action, and based on advice from the Office of General Counsel, Ms. Brown was barred from attending City Council meetings through March 31, 2006. However, Ms. Brown still had unfettered access to Council Members through individual meetings and written correspondence.

The Council has great respect for the rights of all citizens to appear before the Council and exercise their First Amendment right of free speech. We appreciate that citizens take their personal time and effort to inform us of their concerns. However, these rights must be appropriately balanced against the responsibility to exercise proper decorum in a public meeting place, the responsibility to respect the decisions of order from the presiding officer, and to respect the role of law enforcement in ensuring public safety.

For the above reasons, the Council will meet and determine whether appellate proceedings are appropriate, and whether the Rules of the Council should be amended.

Our goal remains to provide an opportunity for members of the public to address their concerns, while respecting the rights of all, to lawfully ensure that the people's business is conducted fairly and without inappropriate disruption.'