198

Title

Novak v. City of Parma, Ohio

Date

29/04/2022

Country

UNITED STATES (North and Central America)

Adjudication body

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Territorial scope

Domestic

Case number

21-3290

Main themes

Hate speech
Hate speech - Racism and xenophobia
National Security

Type of expression

Dark humour
Impersonation and misattribution
Name or logo
Parody or pastiche
Photograph, photomontage, or manipulated image
Sexual, LGBTQ+, or gender humour
Social media

Branch of law

Civil Law
Constitutional Law

Decision direction

Mixed outcome

Outcome

Inadmissible / Request denied / Dismissed

Outcome note

Immunity granted to the Ohio Police Department.

Relation to previous decision

Agreement

Speaker

Gender_Man
Private individual

Target

Politician, public officer, or public body

Link to case

Link to analysis

Summary

Anthony Novak created a Facebook page parodying the Parma city police department’s page using the same name, cover photograph and profile picture. He included posts on the page announcing a recruitment policy which strongly encouraged minorities not to apply and promoting a fictious fair where sex-offenders could remove their names from the registry by completing a series of puzzles.
He was arrested under a law which made it a felony to interfere with police operations but then acquitted. He sued the police for violating his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and his fourth amendment right to freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. The officers were granted qualified immunity.
Novak subsequently petitioned the court to establish 1) whether an officer is entitled to qualified immunity for arresting an individual based solely on speech parodying the government, so long as no case has previously held the particular speech is protected; and (2) whether the court should reconsider the doctrine of qualified immunity. Satirical news site The Onion filed an amicus brief in support of Novak’s petition from the Court of Appeals’ subsequent ruling for the officers.

The petition was denied on 21/02/2023. Therefore, the defendants were entitled to summary judgment on Novak’s civil claims.

More information on this case in available here: https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/novak-v-city-of-parma-ohio/