Agreement Lets Democrats Pass Out Pamphlets at Fair

A federal judge in Santa Ana approved an agreement on Monday that will allow Orange County Democrats to distribute political literature at a September street fair in the city of Orange.

U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts, ruling in a case brought by Democrats, said fair organizers could not restrict materials distributed by political parties at booths set up at the fair, which was established to promote communication and international understanding.

Democrats sued Orange International Street Fair Inc., two fair officials and the city of Orange after fair officials refused to allow them to distribute leaflets criticizing Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) as well as pro-Democratic Party literature.

Democrats claimed in the suit, which asked for an injunction and $1 million in punitive damages, that refusing to allow the party to hand out certain materials at a fair booth “on a piece-by-piece basis” violated free speech rights.

“They essentially said, ‘We have a booth for you, but we want to see what materials you are going to distribute at the booth,’ ” said Mark Rosen, attorney for the Democrats. “And we thought that was unconstitutional.”

Rosen said no decision had been made on whether the party would pursue its claim for damages.

Andrew Guilford, one of the attorneys representing the fair, said that the event’s officials did not want the Sept. 1 through 3 fair to turn into a political event.

“We wouldn’t want an arts and crafts booth at a political convention, and we don’t want a campaign booth in the middle of a street fair,” Guilford said. “There’s a time and place for everything.”

Guilford said Letts indicated that he would not have been as concerned if the fair had simply refused booths to all political parties rather than attempting to control the tone of the literature being distributed by them.

“Once the camel sticks his nose under the tent, it’s hard to keep the camel out,” Guilford said.