Documents from Steve Drake Trial
Jerald Finney was Defense Counsel and Appellate Attorney

State v. Steve Drake (Sidewalk Counselor at Abortion Clinic Charged with Violating Sign Ordinance of Austin TX). Steve was found guilty at trial but the Appeals Court reversed and ordered Acquittal. Constitutional issues and arguments covered freedom of speech in the public forum:

Appellant’s (Steve’s) Appeal Brief
State’s Brief
Appellant’s Reply to State’s Brief
Judgment of Appeals Court
Trial Court Finding of Not Guilty
Trial Court Letter to Steve’s Attorney

Free Speech in the Public Forum: Street Preaching

Online example of police violating the rights (either ignorant of the law or intentionally) of a street preacher with my comments giving legal resources, etc.

Tract: Street Preaching in America – Is It Legal?

Sample United States Supreme Court quote from a case cited in the above tract: “Accordingly a function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger. Speech is often provocative and challenging. It may strike at prejudices and preconceptions and have profound unsettling effects as it presses for acceptance of an idea. That is why freedom of speech, though not absolute, Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire is nevertheless protected against censorship or punishment, unless shown likely to produce a clear and present danger of a serious substantive evil that rises far above public inconvenience, annoyance, or unrest. See Bridges v. California, 314 U.S 252, 262; Craig v. Harney, 331 U.S. 367, 373. There is no room under our Constitution for a more restrictive view. For the alternative would lead to standardization of ideas by legislatures, courts, or dominant political or community groups. …”

Click here to go to “Court Cases of Interest” which has links to cases – including recent Supreme Court cases which came after the above linked tract, “Street Preaching in America – Is It Legal?” was written – which continue to strongly uphold freedom of speech and, for example, show that the job of law enforcement is to protect those exercising their First Amendment freedoms in the public forum, not those who would deny speech which is offensive or hurts their feelings.

Street Preaching: Legal Issues

Essays and Articles

Featured Article: The Legality of Door-to-Door Evangelism

• First Amendment Protection of New Testament Churches/Federal Laws Protecting State Churches (Religious Organizations) (February 2010)
  
• 1,000 Pastors who pledge to defy IRS and preach politics from pulpit ahead of election misunderstand the law and the hierarchy of law (October 3, 2012)
  
• Tract on the Legality of Street Preaching (More Supreme Court cases of benefit to freedom of speech have come down since this tract was drafted, all in line with cases discussed on the tract. See, Court Cases of Interest.)
• The Legality of Door-to-Door Evangelism (December 10, 2011) 
• Business Owners Try To Shut Down Street Preaching In Northfield, Minnesota (August 17, 2014)(They were unsuccessful)
• Street Preaching: A Misunderstood Blessing (September 24, 2014)(Published in the Northfield News)  
• Will Churches in America Have a Choice about Sodomite Marriage: A short critique of the article “Christian schools will have no choice about gay marriage: Column” as it relates to churches (May 23, 2015)  
• The Hierarchy of Law as it relates to sodomy and sodomite marriage (June 1, 2015)  
• Republican Response to Obergefell – Wrong!!!! (July 7, 2015) 
• Response to Obergefell, the United States Supreme Court same sex marriage decision (June 30, 2015) 
• Can a church force a homosexual to turn straight to stay in the church? (September 9, 2015) 
• Lawyers answer question about speech in the public forum in America (September 19, 2015) 
• Moslem question concerning free speech in America with answers from lawyers (2015)
  December 22, 2013: Lawless Police Officer Attacks Street Preaching In Northfield, Minnesota
  OPBC Street Preachers Actions against University of Minnesota Peace Officer who acted unlawfully (October 30, 2015) For more on this see: The Trials and Tribulations of the Old Paths Baptist Church ‘No Small Stir’ Street Preaching Ministry 
• Letter to city officials concerning up-coming street preaching by the men of OPBC (October 21, 2015) 
• Kicking someone out of church for speech, the state church versus the New Testament church, and Nicolaitism (January 16, 2016) 
• Is Separation of Church and State Found in the Constitution? (February 2014) 
• Articles, etc. chronicling and analyzing the attacks, including and beginning with the Northfield MN attacks, against OPBC street preachers (June 27, 2017)

Books:

An Abridged History of the First Amendment

Click here to go to the history of how America got its First Amendment. Every American should know this. Both Christian and Secular mainline sources have lied to us about this matter, but the record is clear, which honest research proves.

ONLINE VERSION OF GOD BETRAYED/SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: THE BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES AND THE AMERICAN APPLICATION

God Betrayed (from Amazon) [Click cover at left or click here to go to amazon.com] (Available from Amazon.com in both softback and Kindle); Xulon Press Quickest way to get the book since Xulon prints the books for all booksellers; (Xulon Press; Barnes and Noble)(PDF)(Online verson – updated and revised)(CLICK HERE TO GO TO DOWNLOADABLE AUDIO SERIES ON GOD BETRAYED)

The Trail of Blood of the Martyrs of Jesus/A Case of Premeditated Murder; Christian Revisionists on Trial; Christian History of the First Amendment    available from Amazon.com in both Kindle and paperback) (Xulon Press – Xulon is the quickest way to get order since Xulon prints and sends to other booksellers once books ordered by bookseller)(Barnes and Noble)(Preview). Click here to go to PDF of all the book except the Introduction and Section I. Section II, “The History of the First Amendment” is in the PDF.