Supreme Courts asked to decide whether White House has to exclude critics from public speeches

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether all Americans, including the president’s critics, have a right to attend his public speeches, or whether the White House retains the right to screen out dissenters.

While the current administration says it does not screen out critics, the issue arose under President George W. Bush. His aides were accused of removing individuals who wore anti-Bush T-shirts or otherwise indicated that they were critics of the president.

In West Virginia, Jeff and Nicole Rank were handcuffed and taken away from a July 4, 2004, rally on the state Capitol grounds shortly before the president arrived. They had tickets to the event, but wore homemade T-shirts with a line crossing out the word “Bush.” The government later paid $80,000 to settle their lawsuit.

But those who have taken their cases before judges have not fared as well.

In March 2005, Leslie Weise and Alex Young were removed from their seats at a town hall meeting in Denver where Bush was due to speak about Social Security. They had obtained tickets from a Republican congressman and had passed through security.

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