WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Secret Service agents protecting Vice President Dick Cheney
may be sued for violating the free speech rights of a member of the
public who made critical remarks about the Bush administration’s war
policies.
Kevin Moloney for The New York Times
Steven Howards said his arrest in 2006 was in
retaliation for his views opposing Vice President Dick Cheney.
The case arose from an episode in 2006 at a mall in Beaver Creek, Colo. A
Secret Service agent said he heard Steven Howards say into a cellphone
that he planned to ask Mr. Cheney “how many kids he’s killed today.” Mr.
Howards later approached Mr. Cheney and said the administration’s
“policies in Iraq are disgusting.” Mr. Howards then touched Mr. Cheney
on the shoulder in a gesture variously described as an open-handed pat, a
slap and a strike that caused the vice president’s shoulder to dip.
Confronted by the Secret Service, Mr. Howards denied touching Mr. Cheney
and said, “If you don’t want other people sharing their opinions, you
should have him avoid public places.” Agents arrested Mr. Howards for
assault and turned him over to local authorities. He was charged with
harassment under state law, but those charges were later dropped.
Mr. Howards sued several Secret Service agents, saying his arrest was
unlawful. He said the agents had violated the Fourth Amendment, which
bars unreasonable searches and seizures, by arresting him without
probable cause. He added that the arrest had violated his First
Amendment rights because, he said, it was made in retaliation for
exercising his right to free speech.
A federal district court judge in Denver allowed the case to proceed.
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