Deputy PD refuses judge's request to remove Black Lives Matter pin; her boss supports her
A deputy public defender in Las Vegas had her boss standing by her side on Tuesday when she refused a judge’s request to remove a Black Lives Matter pin from her blouse.
The deputy PD, Erika Ballou, told Judge Douglas Herndon of Clark County that she wouldn’t remove the button and she wouldn’t remove herself from her client’s case, report the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Associated Press and the Huffington Post.
“I took an oath to support the Constitution, all of the Constitution,” Ballou said. “My oath is to protect everyone’s free speech, even if I disagree with it.”
Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn stood by Ballou’s side in the courtroom. About a dozen defense lawyers were also in the courtroom to show their support, according to the AP story.
Herndon said the pin “is making a political statement, that, ‘I wear this in protest of how the court is treating minority defendants.’ ” He said U.S. Supreme Court precedent allows judges to ban political symbols in the courtroom.
Ballou told AP she decided to wear the pin after the police union in Las Vegas sent a letter to the court’s chief district judge expressing concern about lawyers and citizens who “display ‘Black Lives Matter’ propaganda in court.”
Herndon said he did not ask Ballou to remove her pin because of the letter. He continued Ballou’s case until Thursday.
Kohn told the Review-Journal he doesn’t view the pins as political speech, but no one from his office wears the pins in front of a jury.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer who refused to remove Black Lives Matter pin is sentenced to five days in jail”
