The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will not let Augusta make a case that its protest ordinance is legally valid, and Mayor Bob Young said Friday that officials will probably meet next week to decide their next step.
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In April, a three-judge panel struck down the city ordinance that kept Martha Burk from protesting near the main gate of Augusta National Golf Club during the 2003 Masters Tournament, and now the full court has refused to hear the case.
Attorney Jim Ellison, who was handling the case for the city, said the only legal avenue remaining is to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court within 90 days.
Mayor Bob Young said Friday that Augusta commissioners will discuss what to do at Thursday's meeting.
"If the justices of the appeals court did not want to hear it, it's doubtful the Supreme Court justices would, and with no certainty of outcome, I would recommend we amend our ordinance and move on, " Mr. Young said.
"The fact that Savannah and Brunswick were able to adopt an ordinance used during the G-8 Conference should help give us some guidelines."
Last year Ms. Burk, the chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations, had sought to stage a protest outside the gates of Augusta National to draw attention to the club's all-male membership.
When she announced her plans, city officials passed an ordinance restricting where demonstrations can be held, citing safety concerns, and ultimately kept her a mile away.
Ms. Burk did not return a phone call made to her office Friday.
The city appealed the case on the advice of its attorneys, who told them the chances of affirming U.S. District Court Judge Dudley Bowen Jr.'s earlier decision upholding the city ordinance were better before the full appellate court.
Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylvia.cooper@augustachronicle.com.
Augusta commissioners will discuss whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, amend the ordinance or do nothing during a legal session at Thursday's meeting.
