QuickTake:

The federal lawsuit, filed in 2023, contends that Eugene park restrictions violate constitutional guarantees. A three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had questions for both sides.

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel grilled a Eugene city attorney Wednesday, April 15, in a Portland hearing about a First Amendment challenge to city park rules.

A 2023 federal lawsuit challenged enforcement of park rules that had resulted in arrests and one-month park exclusion notices.

Last year, a U.S. district judge dismissed the lawsuit, stating it wasn’t clear how the two people suing the city would be affected in the future by the city’s rules. The Eugene-based Civil Liberties Defense Center appealed the ruling.

Since one of the plaintiffs in the case has moved to New York, discussion Wednesday centered on Samuel Yergler, arrested in 2022 after shouting disapproval in Downtown Riverfront Park during a talk by Eugene’s city manager.

“If they engaged in the same exact conduct as they did in the past, it would still be a violation of the rules as amended? … It’s a yes or no question,” asked 9th Circuit Judge Jennifer Sung, clarifying she referred to Yergler’s conduct.

“Yes. For the volume,” said Ben Miller, a city of Eugene attorney. Miller said the Oregon Constitution allows enforcement of such a restriction.

The city ultimately dismissed the criminal charge against Yergler.

Questioning Marianne Dugan from the Civil Liberties Defense Center, judges called the lawsuit “vague.”

“It just feels to me like it would help a lot more in evaluating your First Amendment claims if I knew what your client wants to do … Right now, everything still feels kind of vague,” said 9th Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, one of three panelists.

Dugan said she would amend her court filings.

“You’ve gotten some hints from all three of us that there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for you in this case, if you can go back and amend with maybe a new declaration or new complaint,” 9th Circuit Judge John Owens said.