Court order re-opens doors for First Amendment in Wis. town

MILWAUKEE — A federal judge signed a court judgment Tuesday against the village of Kewaskum, which had threatened a man with arrest for distributing Christian literature.  Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit in federal court in February to challenge a village ordinance that severely restricted the man’s constitutional right to free speech and religious freedom.

“Christians shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum.  “Exercising your First Amendment rights is not a crime.  The ordinance was unconstitutional for that reason, so we are pleased to reach this agreement for the benefit of all residents who value their free speech rights.”

On April 25, 2007, Michael Foht went to two neighborhoods in the village of Kewaskum to place fliers sharing his Christian beliefs on the door handles of residences.  After receiving a complaint from one of the residents, a Kewaskum police officer informed Foht that a local ordinance prohibited him from distributing the literature.  The officer said that Foht would be fined $172 every time he was found in violation of the ordinance, and might even face arrest.

Shortly after ADF attorneys filed Foht v. Village of Kewaskum, the village repealed the ordinance.  The village’s consent to a court order in favor of Foht will end the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

According to the order, the ordinance “was facially unconstitutional pursuant to Supreme Court and Seventh Circuit precedent” and “should not have been applied to Mr. Foht’s expressive activities on April 25, 2007.”

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.