Dehne

MEMORANDUM **

Denis E. “Sam” Dehne attended a public meeting of the Airport Authority of Washoe County. He spoke briefly from the podium and was later ejected from the meeting at the direction of Richard Hill, the Chairman of the Authority’s Board of Trustees. Dehne sued Hill and the Authority (collectively “Hill”), claiming that he was ejected in retaliation for the views he had expressed from the podium. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Hill. We reverse.

Dehne’s speech from the podium was core political speech subject to full First Amendment protection. See Boos v. Barry, 485 U.S. 312, 322 , 108 S.Ct. 1157 , 99 L.Ed.2d 333 (1988) (“[I]n public debate our own citizens must tolerate insulting, and even outrageous, speech in order to provide adequate breathing space to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment.” (internal quotation marks omitted)); Ariz. Right to Life PAC v. Bayless, 320 F.3d 1002, 1014 (9th Cir.2003). At public meetings, however, even political speech may be restricted, so long as the restrictions are “reasonable and viewpoint neutral.” Kindt v. Santa Monica Rent Control Bd., 67 F.3d 266 , 270 (9th Cir.1995). Under Kindt, Dehne’s…