The Politics of Permits: The Unconstitutionality of the Guiliani Administration's Parade and Rally Permit Application Procedures

This article addresses the unconstitutionality of New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani’s Administration’s parade and rally permit application procedures, which Judge Leonard B. Sand of the Southern District of New York held to be in violation of the First Amendment on November 16, 1998. The author initially noted the two major factors that won Guiliani the 1993 mayoral election, New Yorker’s belief that he could (1) reduce crime and (2) cool racial tensions, and then “curiously” observed that the groups that faced the greatest bias in their applications were those that applied for parade or rally permits to protest or make speeches about either law enforcement or racism. Having considered “the pattern of bias,” the author then discussed two of the more controversial demonstrations that led up to Judge Sand’s ruling, first, The Million Youth March, and second, The October 22 Coalition Protest. Finally, the author concludes that Mayor Guiliani and his administration “engaged in a pattern of discrimination against groups applying for parade and rally permits who criticize . . . the reduction of crime,” which the author identifies as “one of Mayor Guiliani’s most important political achievements.”