PHILADELPHIA—Today, the Institute for Justice (IJ) sent a letter to Philadelphia city officials calling on them to stop taking retaliatory actions against business owners who spoke out against the city’s new curfew law. The letter points to two instances of city officials taking actions against business owners after they exercised their First Amendment rights to speak out against city policy.
“Small business owners are the backbone of our communities. If they fear retaliation for raising concerns about city issues, everyone loses,” said IJ Senior Attorney Erica Smith Ewing, who wrote the letter. “The government should be encouraging civic engagement, not punishing it.”
Last Thursday, two food truck owners—5th Street Super Food Truck owner Edward Bonilla and Alta Cocina Food Truck owner Jose Luis—spoke to Philadelphia City Council in opposition to the city’s expanded business curfew law, which requires many businesses in city council districts 7,8, and parts of district 1 to close between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. A few hours after their testimony, law enforcement and city licensing officials showed up at the businesses, demanding licenses and registrations from all food trucks in the vicinity. One of the trucks was even towed, despite having all the proper business paperwork, over a recently expired motor vehicle registration. The tow cost thousands in fees and lost revenue. The city also conducted inspections of both businesses—as well as other nearby food trucks—in early May, mere days after they spoke out against the bill in late April.
“This timing is impossible to ignore,” IJ’s letter reads. “If, as the timing suggests, these enforcement actions were taken because of the food truck owners’ speech, then the enforcement actions are blatantly unconstitutional.”
IJ worked with business owners, community organizations, and residents who were concerned about the impact of the curfew bill in the lead up to the Sept. 11 deadline for it becoming law. More than 200 letters were delivered to the city council, asking for the bill to be recalled and more narrowly tailored, and business owners spoke out against it both before and after the initial passage.
In addition to its work helping the Philadelphia businesses advocate for themselves, IJ won a United States Supreme Court case last year, Gonzalez v. Trevino, which expanded the types of evidence people could use to prove First Amendment retaliation claims against government officials.