Two Acadiana women have agreed to settle their lawsuit against Lafayette and a member of the Lafayette Public Library's governing board.
Lillian Mejia and Melanie Brevis, with the assistance of the Tulane First Amendment Law Clinic, filed suit after Brevis was physically removed from a library board meeting while trying to make a comment. To see our story about what happened click here.
As motions were heard and rulings issued in the course of the case, the plaintiffs focused most of their arguments on Robert Judge, who at the time of the incident was president of the board. They argued that his enforcement wasn't neutral, and that he allowed speakers who agreed with him to say things that those who disagreed with him were not allowed to say.
Judge's term on the board expires in September, and he is not staying on the board.
As part of the settlement agreement, the Library Board has agreed to do some things, and stop doing others.
The board agreed that it will not post the state law concerning "Disturbing the Peace," and the board will not read the law during board meetings, and the board won't pass out copies of the law.
The board will not read or enforce any rules that limit protected speech at their meetings; this includes any rules that prohibit debate, confrontation or derogatory speech during public comment periods.
The board will not have law enforcement officers positioned at the front of the room during board meetings; if law enforcement are attending the meet will be positioned in the back or side of the meeting room.
LCG will host a seminar this year about the Open Meetings Law, including First Amendment issues. That training will be for the Library Board, as well as any other boards or commissions LCG wants to be included.
A copy of the Louisiana Open Meetings Law will be posted near the door to any room where the Library Board meetings, with clear labeling and easily accessible for citizens to read.
Also as part of the agreement, LCG will pay Brevis $600, they will pay Mejia $100, and they will pay them $12,500 in lieu of attorney's fees.
Mejia, Brevis and Judge signed the agreement on Tuesday, records show. It was filed, along with a Motion to Dismiss, on Thursday.
We've reached out to Judge and the plaintiffs for comment; we'll update this story as soon as we hear back.
Here's the settlement:
Back in March, the judge in the case declined to dimiss the case against Judge. To read our story about that, click here.
In May, the plaintiffs had made a settlement offer but the Library Board wouldn't discuss it - because of Judge. At that time, it already had cost the city more than $100,000 to defend, our media partners at The Advocate reported.
The library board sided with Judge over its attorney's advice, refusing to enter an executive session to discuss a settlement offer that would have waived the legal fees, dropped everyone from the lawsuit except Judge and prevented Judge from voting on matters involving the lawsuit, the newspaper reported.
To read that whole story, click here.
A few weeks later, a citizen who frequently attends board meetings filed an ethics complaint against Judge. To read The Advocate's coverage of that, click here.
