JUDGE RULES AGAINST STATUE OF HOMELESS

A U.S. District Court judge ruled yesterday that the Community for Creative Non-Violence must comply with a federal regulation that requires the group either to move a large statue depicting a homeless family from the U.S. Capitol grounds once a day or remove it permanently.

Under the order by U.S. District Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer, CCNV members would have to move the quarter-ton statue, which lawyers assert is the "centerpiece" of the group's vigil, possibly as early as tomorrow.

The group also could comply by moving the statue off the Capitol grounds briefly each day and then returning it -- an action the group's lawyer has said is both impractical and a violation of the group's First Amendment right to demonstrate.

CCNV leader Mitch Snyder said yesterday that the group will immediately appeal the ruling and seek an order to postone its implementation.

John Caulfield, general counsel for the U.S. Capitol Police, said police would request that CCNV remove the statue in compliance with the regulation, but was not certain precisely when the removal would be required.

In denying CCNV's request for an order blocking police from enforcing the regulation, the judge found that there is a "significant government interest" in requiring that demonstrations and any "facilities" used in connection with them may not remain on the Capitol grounds for more than 24 consecutive hours.

Oberdorfer found that the requirement "serves Congress' interest in management of the Capitol grounds in a way that does not generally and significantly infringe First Amendment rights."

Snyder, however, asserted, "The judge's opinion, not to be disrespectful, is ridiculous and trivializes the First Amendment . . . . The judge has twisted himself into knots to piece together a justification for the government effort to remove the statue once a day, which we cannot do."

The statue was brought to the Capitol grounds by truck when the group began its demonstration Nov. 28 to underscore the plight of the homeless, and Snyder said the group plans to keep it there until March 21 or until Congress passes emergency legislation to fund homeless shelters and other programs.

The group's demonstration on the East Plaza has included a nightly dinner served to the homeless, and the ruling will not require an end to the protest.

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