Second Circuit Sides With Albany Food Truck in Speech Restriction Suit
The Wandering Dago's state and federal free speech rights were violated when state officials blocked it from participating in a vendor program solely because it used ethnic slurs in its branding, the appellate panel ruled.
January 04, 2018 at 03:33 PM
5 minute read
State authorities violated the state and federal rights of two Albany food truck operators when they were prevented from setting up shop in the Empire State Plaza solely because their name was potentially offensive, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday.
The panel of U.S. Circuit Judges Guido Calabresi and José Cabranes, with U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Eastern District of New York sitting by designation, applied the recently decided U.S. Supreme Court case Matal v. Tam, which found officials in the state Office of General Services committed viewpoint discrimination against the plaintiffs, who operated the “Wandering Dago” food truck.
The food truck had twice applied to a summer program for food trucks operating outside of the state capital, and was twice denied. In both instances, the truck's name and the names of sandwiches they planned to serve that used ethnic slurs were identified as the sole reason for denying their participation.
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