Vague, Capricious and above all..Arbitrary!

The sign below has been altered for illustrative purposes

Quigley gets first warning before 100 dollar fine.

It looks like he's preparing for his handcuffs doesn't it?

CITY CODE Sec. 22-6 ....(Prohibited)"Street performer or street performances includes acting, juggling, singing, playing musical instruments, pantomime, mime, magic, dancing, artistry or the creation of visual art and wares, which includes drawings or paintings."

The Federal Courts have consistently ruled that visual art (paintings, prints and photography) is fully protected by First Amendment making public parks the quintessential location for free speech. Bery vs N.Y.C. Mayor Guiliani was forced to concede that display on public property was guaranteed by the U.S. Constutucion. He then argued that sales of these protected items (paintings and prints) are not part of the guarantees. The courts disagreed, citing an earlier case, Lakewood vs. Plain Dealer Pub that wrote “It is well settled that a speaker's rights are not lost merely because compensation is received;  a speaker is no less a speaker because he or she is paid to speak.”  Guiliani lost the case and appealed it to the Supreme Court who refused to overturn the appeals court decision.So, Why is it so hard for the City Of St. Augustine to honor the high courts decisions? "We have our own rules down here", said then Asst. City Attorney Whitehouse back in 2006. Since then, over twenty citations have been issued and three artists have been jailed on six occasions for exercising the rights that have been well settled by the Federal Courts.In May 2009 Federal Judge Marcia Morales Howard ruled against the city. The City of St. Augustine was forced to vacate all charges and pay the artists and attorneys over 80 thousand dollars for legal fees.

On Saturday, August 28th artist Suvo set up in the Plaza de la Constitucion and was approached by an officer who requested that he turn off the video cam, apparently wanting to speak "off the record". Since there was a non artist citizen witness there Suvo complied (big mistake) The officer then said that a meeting was held and it was decided that Suvo could display and sell but cannot "draw a crowd." (a ticket for violating the ordinance 22-6 was issued the previous month and was dropped when Suvo requested a court date for a hearing.) When asked what defined a "crowd" the officer stated that this was a "muddy" area. Suvo continued to display and tried to sell his art until the day darkened, about seven more hours.

The next day artist Dean Quigley set up his easel and a small rack of works for sale and as pictured above was told by the same officer from the day before that he is in violation of 22-6 ordinance and was asked for id and social security number. It  was put on record that he was warned and the next time he would receive a 100 dollar fine. This time as opposed to the numerous time in the past few years he was not told to leave.

Artist Scott Raimondo yesterday asked the same officer about the ordinance and was told that it is in full effect that the area of the Plaza was restricted and that no one can display sell or paint in the restricted area (covering 94% of the total area) The 75 dollar illegal permits are also not being enforced (until THEY want to).

The City is practicing arbitrary and capricious enforcement that is the very definition of vagueness. We call it "making it up as you go along." "An unjust law is no law at all ",St. Augustine of Hippo

Charming Cobras In The Square

U.S.Flags are legal now ?

See here *

The Marrakesh marketplace in Morrocco had nothing on the Plaza de la Constitucion this weekend. Sales of factory made "African Drums" and some kind of lotion called Shea butter, amongst the boiling pots of corn on the cob, Italian ices, water vendors, costume jewelry and counterfeit purses and sunglasses.

In May, a Federal judge ordered that the city cannot ban artists (prints, sculpture, paintings and photographs) The city administration for some unknown reason, has decided not to enforce the ordinance prohibiting sales and requiring a permit of any kind for the sales of merchandise on the streets and parks of St. Augustine. This pretty much contradicts the reason for the ordinance in the first place, to prevent a flea market atmosphere.

The Plaza has now been discovered by an affable group of Ghanaians who have set up four separate stands all selling the same goods such as exotic glass and plastic beads, kalimbas , drums and sculpture.

Vendor to Couple about 20 feet away:"Hey you over dere! Come here! I have something to show you!"

The couple slowly walks over (zombies!?, hypnotized!?)

Vendor:"I have goods here that you will love, here, rub dis into your skin" (offering an open container of some yellow waxy substance)

As if in a trance the couple dip into the container and rub a small amount onto their forearms.

Vendor:"Dis is a magical ointment called Shea buttah." Stops and calls out to another couple who have already walked past....."MADAME !Free Samples Here! You Need To See Dis!" They continue to walk on.

Back to first couple "Ok you can have ninety percent off! You will love dis! It not only is a wonderful moisterizer but can prevent colds and the flu! You can see beautiful skin on African women who use shea butter. Some actually eat spoonfuls for internal problems. Only five dollahs! Ok, Ok, Wid dat,I give you dis beautiful bracelet for your little girl. No? "(Followers of the Holy Spirit Movement rebel group of Uganda smeared their bodies with shea butter in the belief that it would stop bullets)

The vendor immediately abandons the conversation turning to another couple perusing the goods. "NO Chawj Foh Looking !, Ninety percent off! I have carved dis just for you! (pointing to an obvious mass produced wood sculpture sold in flea markets all over.Yes, at least this is a constitutionally protected artwork)

That day we had the regular five local artists of prints, paintings sculpture and photos and twenty one vendors of general merchandise.

*

The artist Suvo was jailed on Memorial Day 2008, for offering newspapers and American flags for sale. The ordinance has not been changed. The court date is set for August 8, 2009.link

Editorial by Suvo

“What this country needs is more free speech worth listening to.”

Hans Duckett

The recent story in the St.Augustine Record was entitled "Both Sides See Win In Artist Suit". The title perpetuates the impression the populace has of the city administration and vice verso. Is it naive to believe that government and the people are supposed to be the same thing? Can our elected government have direct opposition to the people that they supposedly serve? It can happen when the elected officials and the city administrators decide that it is practical to bow to a minority. This minority is the group that came forth with campaign funds and golf outings and promises to keep the community vibrant with growth and progress particularly in their own interests.

We, the artists involved, have seen this close up. Last year a secret closed door meeting regarding our ouster from the streets was clearly obvious. When the ordinance was passed by unanimous vote to ban the artists the mulch boxes that contained our exhibits were removed the day before the vote. Whoops! The parks department slipped up on that one! No plausible deniability there.

Mayor Boles represents himself as a fighter vs the artists. Local readers, ask yourself this......Is he fighting for your interests? His friend and client, gallery owner Len Cutter is having difficulty selling his overpriced Dr.Seuss prints in one of his four galleries surrounding the Plaza. Look for blame........it must be those street artists....they are taking MY tourist dollar. Handle it Joe! Take care of it Bill! Get them out of there!

A clarification to the news story...........We have no spokesperson. As advocates of free speech we along with everyone else sometimes hold our tongues and clench our teeth when we hear something that conflicts with our own beliefs or philosophies. But everyone has the right to be heard. That said.............this is a visual arts issue not a street performer issue. Those who have spoken before this last City Commission meeting rehashing old narratives and shaking their fists have not been involved in the Federal lawsuit nor have we seen them anywhere near our past protests. Coming out of the woodwork now does not help us. We are leaving this in the hands of the Federal Court for now. Debate now?..........why?

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK - ARTISTS GONE !

Last week the local news paper here, "The St. Augustine Record" reported that recently almost 20,000 dollars had been paid to hired counsel Michael Kahn of Melbourne to prosecute artist Suvo on a single charge of "offering for sale" artwork on St. George Street. Each side gave oral arguments of one half hour before Judge Wendy Berger. Contrary to previous Federal precedents he was found guilty and the fine of 165 dollars remained.

Mr. Kahn submitted his bill and was paid 19, 700 dollars from your tax dollars! This was for prosecution of one city code infraction. Suvo has perhaps a dozen more scheduled for trial along with seven other artists.

On New Years Eve two Art In The Market artists, Scott Raimondo and Dean Quigley were jailed for "offering for sale" artworks in the Plaza De La Constitucion. Undercover officers being paid overtime were used to solicit a price quote from each artist. These two desperate criminals were handcuffed and taken to the St. John's County jail and finally bonded out just moments before midnight, ringing in the New Year, 2009.

According to S.A.P.D. Commander Fricke, the city is "stepping up enforcement" by not only continue issuing 100 dollar citations but will now "take the artists directly to jail" before trial for "violating" ordinance 22-6. Meanwhile, the city permits musicians with tip jars and sellers of counterfeit designer purses to operate without hassle. Clearly this is directed solely at visual artists . City Manager Mr. William ("Art is Foo Foo") Harris and his landlord cronies feel that they are above the law and can use taxpayer funds to harass the artists to "protect" their interests, particularly in the case of Len Cutter who owns four art galleries surrounding the Plaza. He must feel that as an important man in this community he can dictate what takes place in "HIS" front yard, the Plaza De La Constitucion.........the nations oldest public space as stated on a sign near St. George Street.

So, as of New Year's Day 2009, after almost 450 years, you no longer have the ability or right to acquire artwork from the artist vendors of St. Augustine. Big Brother has won......................so far. The First Amendment does not exist in St. Augustine. Thank the artists for a good fight but we have drained our resources and will , fighting for our (and yours) natural rights.

This community should be ashamed, permitting this behaviour by unscrupulous city officials.

Lost Cause?

Yes ,the harassment by the city of St. Augustine against visual artists has been outrageous and illegal. We lose our cases in the lower courts and are expected to give up our fight for rights that have already been affirmed by the higher courts. We are YOU!

Memorial Day

The real crime are those pale skinny legs


"It is well settled that a speaker's rights are not lost merely because compensation is received; a speaker is no less a speaker because he or she is paid to speak." Riley v. Nat'l Fed'n of Blind of North Carolina, 487 U.S. 781, 801 (1988).

As a demonstration of First Amendment Rights, artist Suvo "offered for sale" (one dollar) 8"x 12" American flags in the Plaza on Saturday. The only flags purchased was by a naturalized citizen from Poland. Shortly thereafter Suvo was handcuffed and jailed. God Bless America ! Are you shocked? Complacency and apathy seems to rule here in America these days If you are not concerned that citizens American rights are being eroded, then you are not paying attention.

Does our small remaining group of artists have the resources to continue our protests? No! Sure, we hear everyone tell us how wrong this is. Frankly, we are uninterested in hearing this. We've heard it enough. Most will wait until their rights are violated on their front doorsteps.

UNDER ORDERS FROM ????

REMOVED BY ST. AUGUSTINE POLICE ON MEMORIAL DAY

ARTIST ARRESTED (MORE LATER)

Why Is This Man Smiling?

When these Irish eyes are smiling,

Sure dere's trouble in the Park

With a lilt of Irish laughter

Give a ticket, make a mark

When Irish hearts are happy,

All the world seems bright and gay.

When these Irish eyes are smiling,

Sure ya know it's a bummer day

Officer McCully of S.A.P.D, working under orders from above, issued two 100 dollar tickets to a photographer and a painter on Mother's Day in the Plaza.

"Mama,Why Is The Policeman Taking My Picture?"

Scene of The Crime

Here is a narrative that is typical of the treatment that street artists in St. Augustine receive.


"Well,out of the clear blue they came up to me Thursday, April 3 in the middle of doing a portrait of a 6 year old birthday boy tourist grandson at the corner of Charlotte and Hypolita to interrupt the rapport I had going with this youngster and issued me a citation. No less than two police cars and three policemen stayed for 20 minutes while the boy and his visiting grandparents watched. They said I could be arrested if I set up again. They took a picture of my easel. One of the shopkeepers thought there must have been a major accident. It was embarrassing and humiliating and I kept apologizing to my clients for the unpleasant experience on their vacation. They had returned from a previous trip two years ago when I had done another sibling to have this one done for his birthday. I take a lot of pride to give my portrait sitter a pleasant experience during the portrait session and it was upsetting that the police were so disruptive to this with no regard for the impact on the tourists. What a great birthday memory for this family to bring back to Ohio! Other tourists going down the street on the other side called out: Do you have time for another one?"I called out: "Looks like NOT!", pointing to the police officers.Quite a shock to the peace and community feeling that's built up over two years on that corner with the local businesses benefiting as I often sent people to the surrounding shops and restaurants."
Nancy Christensen

Encroachment

These five City Commissioners have ignored Federal Court rulings that affirm that Art is fully protected by the First Amendment Bill of Rights.

If not for the courage of a few remaining artists who face arbitrary arrests ,jail and confiscation, we would have an empty Plaza. (ready for the corporate sponsors to step in )

The citizens have told us that we are wanted and in no way detract from the historical nature of St. Augustine. Ask yourself....just whose interests do these commissioners, judges and city attorneys represent?

Behind The Story

For his entire time in public office N.Y.C. mayor Mike Bloomberg has continued to wage a vicious war against street artists that was started by Mayor Giuliani and the CPC (Central Park Conservancy), including daily illegal enforcement, daily harassment, false arrests and ongoing efforts to strip away the legal rights we won in the course of ten years of legal struggle. Read activist artist Robert Lederman's article and you can see that "corporatization" and loss of personal freedoms is moving in to all sectors of our life. This applies to NYC, Peoria Illinois or St. Augustine Florida. Should we wait for "Ripley's Plaza De La Constitucion"? Article

Will You Wait Until It Happens To You?

Which of these free speech activities is not permitted by The City Of St. Augustine, Florida?* The other three are considered "protected speech" by the City. Do we have equal protection as artists selling our works? No! The musicians (& news machine) received money for their service or product. The visual artist gets arrested for publicly protesting a bad, uneven and illegal ordinance. Yet read the Federal Court wording regarding the commercial aspect of artwork as protected speech. The City Commission disregards Federal rulings . Their predecessors did it in the bad old days of desegregation and they are doing it now.

See Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Pub. Co., 486 U.S. 750, 756 n.5 & 768 (1988). "It is well settled that a speaker's rights are not lost merely because compensation is received; a speaker is no less a speaker because he or she is paid to speak." This was invoked in BERY vs RUDOLPH GIULIANI IN 1996 affirming an artist's right to sell his works on public property. Art is Free Speech.

* Hint: You can see police shutting down Suvo's protest on St. George St. (December 2006) Verdict by Judge Tinlin ....Guilty.

Art Under Control

"Freedom of Expression in St. Augustine depends upon whether or not (Asst. City Attorney)Robin Upchurch approves of it or not."-- Tom Cushman, defense attorney for the St. Augustine Artists on Trial.

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, USA -- In an unprecedented slap-in-the-face to the U.S. Constitution, St. Augustine city attorneys, Ron Brown and Robin Upchurch, repeatedly stated at the trial of the St. Augustine Artists that they intend to ban Free Speech from the city's park altogether.

During the trial, city attorney Ron Brown admitted that he and assistant city attorney Robin Upchurch are currently and frequently "micro-managing" who can and can't exercise their First Amendment Rights in St. Augustine's City Park, the "Plaza De La Constitucion."

Testimony given by police officers under oath revealed that the Police were given directions in the form of a two page memo from assistant city attorney, Robin Upchurch, as to what Upchurch believed to be acceptable art. Upchurch, who has no formal training or education in art, directed the Saint Augustine Police Department in a March 23, 2007 memo, as to what mediums artists could and could not use that would be acceptable forms of art to her, that could be shown in the City's park.

On March 31, one week after Upchurch issued her memo to the St. Augustine Police Department, the police raided the city park and began citing and arrested artists whose art work did not meet Upchurch's standards as acceptable art.
Referring to the artists who show their work in the city park Upchurch stated, "It has become a huge problem."

Confronted by Judge Tinlan that the city's ordinance may be unconstitutional because it is not "content-neutral," Upchurch said that the city was "making an exception" for the artist's First Amendment rights by allowing them to show their art work in the city's park. At one point Judge Tinlan asked Upchurch if she would rather do away with the First Amendment language in the ordinance, what Upchurch called an "exception," to the city ordinances that allows the artists to show their work. "Absolutely, your honor," said Upchurch. At that point, and throughout the remainder of the trial, Upchurch repeatedly said she would recommend to the city commission "First thing tomorrow" that the city do away with the language in the ordinance which allows artists to show their "paintings, photographs, prints and sculptures" in public, effectively banning the artists' Free Speech from the city's park altogether.

Upchurch and Brown, repeatedly made reference to a well documented national case, Bery V. New York. But while referencing the case, Upchurch and Brown failed to acknowledge that in that case the Federal court ruled it is "unconstitutional to require licenses for artists to display and sell their work in city parks." St. Augustine's city ordinances currently require a permit for the artists to show their work, however no permits are currently being issued by the city, and the city has up to now, been "making an exception" for some artists who meet their criteria as "acceptable" artists.

City governments may restrict the "time, place, and manner of speech," provided that the law is narrowly tailored "to serve a significant government interest" and leaves open alternative channels for communication. City attorneys Upchurch and Brown stated during the trial, that the artists have other alternatives channels, other areas in the city where they can go to show their art work, and that they intend to kick the artists out of the city park.

Referring to the city's intent to Ban the Artists, "What good is having a Constitutional Right, a First Amendment Right to Free Speech, if the St. Augustine Government only allows you to speak in a place where no one can hear you," said Bruce Bates, one of the artists who currently shows his work in the city park.

"The city would like us to go to the back of the bus," Bates said, referencing a well-known civil rights case during the 60's, "And we're not about to let a hand-full of neo-fascists roll back the calendar on Your First Amendment Rights, after all, Artists Rights, Are Your Rights Too."
-->From: http://mysaintaugustine.com/

Artist Removed

Just Say No To Rugs, Drugs and Plugs !

or

How NOT to do secret surveillance

Ok ......, sorry.......,we were just trying to give this photo a cute, clever caption. We couldn´t resist the male pattern baldness spread evenly amongst the local police department.

The St. Augustine police were taping the process of giving Suvo a $100 ticket for displaying his art for sale on St.George Street. You cannot tell by this photo but Suvo has the same "monk´s pate" as the officers. The Center for Krishna Consciousness people (maybe, maybe not ) were selling baseball hats a few feet away but no ticket was issued and they weren´t lucky enough to get on film. Suvo was ordered to move back into the Plaza and did so, joining the geegaws, trinkets, plastic jewelry and various sunglass vendors.