ACLU Foundation of Connecticut Announces Settlement in Quinn v. Eucalitto, Protecting First Amendment Right to Peaceful Protests

Bridgeport, Conn. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut announced today that the Connecticut State Police have agreed to stop breaking up highway overpass demonstrations protected by the First Amendment. The agreement was reached in Quinn v. Eucalitto, a First Amendment lawsuit brought on behalf of Erin Quinn and Robert Marra that protects the rights of individuals to peacefully demonstrate on public sidewalks throughout Connecticut.

The agreement comes after a federal judge presiding over a hearing in the case denied the state police’s bid to dismiss the case and observed that parties’ positions were not that far apart. Judge Stefan Underhill directed both sides to work together to finalize an agreement. The parties successfully negotiated a settlement that provides important safeguards for the public’s First Amendment right to peacefully protest on public sidewalks and clarifies that Connecticut State Police may not disperse lawful demonstrations.

“We are glad that the state police will now stop breaking up demonstrations based on claims of driver distraction. This is an important win for protest rights at a critical time when such freedoms are under increasing pressure across the country,” said Dan Barrett, Legal Director of the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut. “The First Amendment protects the right of people to peacefully express their views in public spaces, and this agreement helps ensure that state officials respect those fundamental constitutional protections.”

The lawsuit arose after Quinn and Marra, members of the Connecticut Visibility Brigade, participated in peaceful demonstrations by holding signs on public sidewalks lining overpasses above Interstate 95. Concerned about actions taken by the federal government, the demonstrators used the overpasses to communicate political messages to passing motorists.

State troopers threatened Quinn and Marra with prosecution and enforcement actions related to their demonstrations, while also arresting another protester at her home. The plaintiffs filed suit against the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Safety (the parent agency of the state police), asserting that their First Amendment rights were violated when law enforcement attempted to stop or threaten enforcement against lawful, peaceful expression.

The settlement affirms that peaceful demonstrations on public sidewalks and similar public forums are protected by the Constitution and that law enforcement may not threaten demonstrators with prosecution or arrest who are in lawful protest activity.

The case comes at a time when such demonstrations nationwide have faced heightened scrutiny and increased attempts to restrict protest activity. The resolution of Quinn v. Eucalitto helps ensure that Connecticut residents can engage in civic discourse without fear of legal retaliation.

“This settlement is an important win for the right to protest at a time when we have witnessed that freedom comes under attack across the country, said David McGuire, Executive Director of the ACLU of Connecticut. Our legal team moved swiftly to defend core First Amendment rights and make clear that people in Connecticut can speak out without fear of retaliation.”

In addition, State Troopers shall not detain, identify, threaten, fine, disperse, or arrest individuals for peacefully assembling or for holding up signs conveying non-commercial, political messages when those individuals are on a sidewalk of an overpass that is not a limited-access highway based on the pace, conduct, or reaction of traffic on the highway below. Nothing in this Special Order shall prevent a trooper from responding to a call for service.

This directive does not prevent State Troopers from arresting, fining, or dispersing any individual who incites imminent unlawful action, engages in fighting words, affixes a sign to an overpass fence, drops an item from an overpass onto a highway below, or who stands in a roadway.

About the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut:
The ACLU Foundation of Connecticut works to defend and advance civil liberties and civil rights through litigation, advocacy, and public education. For more information, visit acluct.org.

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