The appeals court ruling concluded that Pechman “speculated about possible vagueness in hypothetical and fanciful situations” and that her concerns did not outweigh the many legitimate applications of the anti-graffiti law.
The ruling stated, ”By failing to inquire into the ordinance’s numerous lawful applications, the district court was unable to analyze whether the number of unconstitutional applications was substantially disproportionate to the statute’s lawful sweep.”
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Braden Pence, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement that their lawsuit will continue.
“Our fight for the right to criticize the Seattle Police Department in children’s sidewalk chalk written on public property without fear of arrest and booking into jail is not over,” Pence said. “The Ninth Circuit left open paths whereby Judge Pechman can still find the anti-writing ordinance unconstitutional, and we look forward to continuing to pursuing these claims in court.”
City Attorney Ann Davison called the decision an important victory, and said graffiti is a massive problem that costs Seattle millions of dollars to address.