Virginia ACLU represents Klansman who set fire to a cross in Carroll County
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide if a Virginia law banning the burning of crosses violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment. Last November, the Virginia Supreme Court decided that the law was unconstitutional, but the state Attorney General asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling.
In the case, lawyers for the ACLU of Virginia represent Barry Black, who in 1998 was charged with a felony for setting fire to a cross at a Ku Klux Klan rally on a farm in rural Carroll County. Although the owner of the farm permitted the cross burning, the police immediately arrested Black. He was later convicted of the cross-burning crime and fined $2,500. That conviction was upheld by the Virginia Court of Appeals in 2000, before being reversed by the Virginia Supreme Court.
Virginia's law prohibits cross-burning with the intent to intimidate another person, in places viewable by the public. The law assumes that the act of burning a cross is always meant to intimidate
"As detestable as cross-burning is," said ACLU of Virginia executive director, "it is still a way of conveying a message, which means that it -- like burning the flag or expressing any other unpopular idea-- is protected by the First Amendment."
"This is the kind of case that almost no one likes," added Willis, "but it is also the kind of case that can be used to reaffirm our basic constitutional principles. We hope that the U.S. Supreme Court has taken this case in order to clarify and refine its interpretation of free speech, not to weaken it."
In recent years, cross burning laws in South Carolina, Maryland and New Jersey have been struck down as unconstitutional, while similar laws in Florida, Washington and California have been upheld.
The Virginia cross burning law was amended during the 2002 legislative session and now also prohibits the burning of any object with the intent to intimidate another person. The new law does not assume that the act of burning an object is intended to intimidate
ACLU cooperating lawyers representing Barry Black are Rodney Smolla, a University of Richmond law professor, and David Baugh, who practices criminal law in Richmond.
Contacts: Kent Willis, Executive Director, ACLU of Virginia, 804-644-8022 David Baugh, 804-643-8111 Rodney Smolla, 804-289-8197
