Anti-abortion group sues U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - Anti-abortion activists sued the Supreme Court on Tuesday, claiming a rule barring large signs on sidewalks outside the court violates the First Amendment.

An attorney for the Christian Defense Coalition asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan to issue a preliminary injunction to stop Supreme Court police from enforcing the regulation.

An attorney for the Supreme Court sought a summary judgment in the high court's favor or a dismissal of the lawsuit altogether.

After hearing arguments for both sides, Hogan said he expected to render a written opinion within 48 hours.

Attorney Brian R. Chavez-Ochoa noted that ''Regulation Six,'' written by Supreme Court police Marshall Dale Bosley and signed by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, was enacted on the very day of his clients' demonstration to stop them from protesting.

Court police arrested 22 demonstrators April 25 when they refused to remove huge, graphic banners that included a full-color depiction of a decapitated fetus. The Supreme Court was hearing arguments over Nebraska's ban on a surgical procedure that opponents call partial birth abortion.

The demonstrators spent 12 hours in jail before pleading innocent to a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Chavez-Ochoa also noted that his clients had conducted similar protests two days earlier but were not arrested.

The new regulation was issued under the authority of a federal law that lets the court protect its building and grounds and the people who use them. It bans from ''perimeter sidewalks of the Supreme Court grounds'' signs larger than 4 feet long and 4 feet wide and elevated higher than 6 feet from the ground if they are not carried by hand.

The protesters had propped up some of their signs, including one that was 4 feet by 6 feet, outside the courthouse.

''Clearly, the Supreme Court did not agree with the content of our message,'' said the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, the protest leader. ''It is an unconstitutional regulation against free speech on what should be the most hallowed sidewalk in the nation.''

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Sally M. Rider, arguing on behalf of the Supreme Court, told Hogan that the regulation was enacted because Bosley had legitimate concerns for ''safety, security, access and decorum.''

''A lot of thought went into it,'' said Rider, whose office is part of the Justice Department. ''It has nothing to do with the content (of the signs). It has to do with the physical size of the signs.''

Earlier, Bosley testified that he only saw the back of signs and was not concerned with their anti-abortion message. He said the signs were large enough to be used as a weapon, to hide an assailant, to block the line of sight of court police, and to block access to the court.