Man accused of harrassment and public disturbance sues library for $10 million
Feb 24th, 2008 by Rob
A Massachusetts man accused of causing disturbances in a public library has decided to sue for $10 million after library workers filed a police complaint against him.
Ross Tobia, who says he suffers from epilepsy and bipolar disorder, was asked to leave the library after staffers determined him to be excessively loud, crude and disruptive. Tobia was accused of cursing at workers, talking in a loud voice about surveillance cameras and telling one librarian, “I have a contagious disease.”
Library officials contacted the police because they felt they were harrassed, and officers went to Tobia’s house to inform him that he had been banned. Tobia then decided to sue, contending that his First Amendment right to free speech was violated and that the ban was an act of prejudice against him due to actions relating to his disabilities.
In his lawsuit Tobia says, “The library is the bastion of free speech in the nation and as such must be available to all citizens.”
The episode recalls the often-misconstrued “shouting ‘Fire’ in a crowded theater” clause first articulated by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1919, which seems to place limits on extremes of free speech. In the context of that decision, Holmes was referring to speech that was inflammatory or could immediately spark rioting or chaos.
The “Fire” maxim has been used much more generally in recent years, as explained by Alan Dershowitz in his oft-quoted Atlantic Monthly article “Shouting Fire.” Dershowitz suggests that Homes’ analogy is overly broad, equating controversial political speech with blatantly false, panic-inducing actions. He writes,
“The analogy is thus not only inapt but also insulting. Most Americans do not respond to political rhetoric with the same kind of automatic acceptance expected of schoolchildren responding to a fire drill.”
In Tobia’s case, however, it seems that his words and actions cross the line between political discourse and blatant disruption of a public gathering place. The library workers felt threatened by his actions, and they responded in kind by contacting the police and excluding him from the area he disrupted.
