Federal Judge Tosses Suit About Speech Rules at County Meetings

ACLU represented case about whether Orange County's Board of Supervisors could set guidelines about how the public speaks at the meetings.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday after a three-day trial that an Anaheim man doesn't have legal standing to challenge a county rule governing how members of the public speak to the Board of Supervisors.

The decision by U.S. District Judge James V. Selna handed a victory to the county without considering plaintiff William D. Fitzgerald's argument that the rule barring "personal, impertinent, slanderous or profane remarks" at board meetings is unconstitutional.