The Reverend Walter Hoye's Federal challenge to the city of Oakland's "bubble ordinance" was heard before a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday.
Presiding were Judge Stephen Reinhardt, Judge Marsha Berzon, and Judge Louis Pollak. It is especially interesting to listen to the court's questioning of Mr. Greg Richardson, who was arguing for the city of Oakland. That segment begins about 28:15 into the audio below:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/view_subpage.php?pk_id=0000006330
It sounded to me like the judges had lots of problems with the ordinance--at one point Judge Berzon said a visitor from Mars would find it hard to believe that the ordinance was not "content based" in what kind of speech it prohibits and what it allows.
Questioning got so tough that, in what may be a first for an attorney, Mr. Richardson basically asked for less time to argue his case, stating that he thought his five minutes were up. But 87 year-old Judge Pollak told him not to worry, that he though the the point under discussion--free speech--was an important one, and wanted it finished.
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Mr. Richardson had substantially exceeded the time alotted to him under the court's rules and was being respectful of that fact by submitting himself to the court's option of asking him any additional questions. Judge Pollak did not tell him what you claimed (i.e. "not to worry", etc.) but said he had "a fairly significant question" about whether the ordinance is content neutral which he then asked.
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