Supreme Court revives Mississippi evangelist’s challenge to protest ordinance 

The Supreme Court on Friday revived a Mississippi evangelist’s challenge to a city protest ordinance he was previously convicted of violating, making it easier for people to challenge laws they were convicted under to bar future prosecution. 

Gabriel Olivier, a Christian street preacher, had asked the justices to let his lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of an ordinance restricting demonstrations outside a Brandon, Miss., amphitheater move forward. He claims the law runs afoul of his religious rights.  

However, his conviction for violating the ordinance caused lower courts to reject his bid, based on a 1994 Supreme Court ruling that barred people from challenging laws they were previously convicted under to avoid backdoor efforts to challenge the conviction’s validity. 

A federal judge threw out Olivier’s case, and a panel of U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed. Over several dissents, the full appeals court declined to rehear the case by a one-vote margin. 

The justices ruled unanimously to let Olivier’s lawsuit proceed, saying that the court’s precedent in Heck v. Humphrey does not bar legal challenges such as his.  

“That decision has no bearing on Olivier’s suit seeking a purely prospective remedy,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan for the full court.  

The ordinance was passed after Olivier and other demonstrators called passersby “whores,” “Jezebels,” “sissies” and other derogatory names through a loudspeaker at the facility’s busiest intersection, lawyers for Brandon, Miss. said in court filings.  

It diverts demonstrations outside the amphitheater to a nearby designated area for three hours before events and one hour after, additionally banning the use of loudspeakers that can be clearly heard more than 100 feet from there. 

Olivier pleaded no contest to violating it, meaning he admitted no guilt but did not dispute the charges and agreed to a small fine, suspended sentence and year of probation. 

The preacher’s attorney told the justices that he is not looking to undercut his conviction, noting that he already paid his fine and a state court will not have to vacate the conviction if he prevails in his lawsuit. Instead, he wants protection moving forward.  

“The key is the relief that individual is seeking,” Allyson Ho, his attorney, said during oral arguments in December. 

The justices agreed that the future-forward relief sought by Olivier is the reason his lawsuit may proceed without facing the so-called “Heck bar.”  

“The suit, after all, is not about what Olivier did in the past, and depends on no proof addressed to his prior conviction,” Kagan wrote. “Unlike in Heck, the suit merely attempts to prevent a future prosecution. So the Heck bar does not come into play.” 

G. Todd Butler, a lawyer for the city, had argued that Olivier chose to ignore “countless doors,” like challenging the ordinance’s constitutionality in Mississippi courts or seeking an expungement or pardon from the governor. Instead, Olivier seems intent on going through his “preferred door,” the lawyer said, which would invalidate the ordinance under federal law. 

The Trump administration partially backed Olivier’s suit, agreeing that his efforts to seek future protection against the ordinance should be allowed. 

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