Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself

ACLU v. Jerome County – Idaho law requires that when applications for Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are considered, the public must be afforded an opportunity to comment at a hearing.  However, this statute allows counties to restrict public comment to only those people having a primary residence within one mile of the site.  The ACLU was contacted by a group of concerned citizens about a particular CAFO proposed for a site 1.5 miles away from the Minidoka Internment National Monument, where thousands of innocent Japanese American citizens were detained in camps during World War II.  Because this location is of such historical and cultural importance, many individuals and organizations are seeking to provide comment, including the National Park Service, a school district, and the Japanese American Citizens League.  None of these groups reside within one mile of the proposed site, so they have been denied the opportunity to offer comment on the issue, and how it impacts the broader public interest.  After our letters and calls to Jerome County officials expressing our First Amendment concerns with this restriction, in March 2007 the Commissioners voted to rewrite the county CAFO ordinance to remove the restriction.