A federal judge has cleared the way for a jury trial in the city’s Boy Scouts eviction case.
In a one-page ruling issued April 23, U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter said there are at least 17 disputed facts in the case that require a trial to determine the truth.
Buckwalter did not identify the facts in question.
The city is seeking the immediate eviction of the Cradle of Liberty Council from a city-owned building at 231-251 N. 22nd St., because the council refuses to allow gay participants, nor will it pay fair-market rent.
The city contends that the organization is in violation of the city’s antibias law, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in accommodations.
The council, however, claims it’s being discriminated against simply for exercising its First Amendment right to exclude gays. The council wants to remain in the building permanently, without paying any rent or allowing gay participants.
Both sides wanted Buckwalter to dispose of the matter by issuing a summary-judgment ruling in their favor, thus obviating the need for a jury trial.
A jury trial will be requested instead of a bench trial, in which Buckwalter himself would decide the case, City Hall sources told PGN.
A jury trial could last several weeks. Jurors would be pooled from nine counties in the region: Burks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia.
In court filings, city attorneys said potential witnesses include Mayor Nutter, former Mayor John F. Street, City Councilmember Darrell L. Clarke and former Boy Scout Greg Lattera, who allegedly was ousted from the council for being gay.
Maura Kennedy, a spokesperson for Nutter, had no comment at press time about the mayor being named as a potential witness.
Other potential witnesses include Romulo Diaz, former city solicitor; Robert Nix III, former president of the Fairmount Park Commission; Pedro Ramos, former city managing director; Carrie Jacobs, executive director of The Attic Youth Center; Rebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO of Pew Charitable Trusts; Allison Buehler, education manager of Mazzoni Center; and Joyce Wilkerson, former chief of staff for Street.
Members of the LGBT Working Group identified as potential witnesses include David Adamany, John Alchin, the Hon. Dan Anders, Charles Bennison, Allen Black, Jim Bryson, Andrew Chirls, David Cohen, Abbe Fletman, Sue Levi Elwell, Steve Getzow, Fred Haas, Arthur Kaplan, Malcolm Lazin, Daniel Meyer, Chris Paliani, R. Duane Perry, Keith Robinson, Stacy Sobel, Mary Strasser, John Taylor, Sandra Thompson and Melina Waldo.
Jury selection will begin June 14.
In a related matter, Buckwalter rejected a request from the Scouts to exclude key evidence from the case, including Perry’s account of the council’s “short-lived” nondiscrimination policy covering sexual orientation in 2003.
But Buckwalter also said he may grant permission for the Scouts to take “additional discovery” on the evidence to be presented by Perry and other related witnesses before the trial begins.
Perry recently signed an affidavit indicating that the local Scouts council adopted an antibias policy covering gays in 2003, then rescinded the policy after pressure from the national Scouting organization.
The Scouts say they’re ready for a trial.
“We are prepared to move forward with a trial and look forward to resolving this matter,” the Scouts said in a prepared statement. “However, we remain open to a settlement if the terms meet the Scouts’ imperatives. We accept Judge Buckwalter’s decision, and note also that while the court permitted the city to include certain evidentiary items that it had not previously disclosed, it nevertheless denied the city’s motion for summary judgment.”
Thomas W. Ude, senior staff attorney with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, expressed “cautious optimism” that the city will prevail at trial.
“The issue is whether the Scouts can discriminate on the city’s dime,” Ude told PGN. “The Constitution doesn’t entitle anyone to do that, and we hope and anticipate that, at trial, it will be clear that the city should prevail.”
Amara S. Chaudhry, director of legal services for Mazzoni Center, said she was pleased the case is going to a jury.
“I’m optimistic that a fair cross-section of the community will agree with the city’s position. My experience with juries is that they’re always more fair than they’re given credit for.”
Tim Cwiek can be reached at (215) 625-8501 ext. 208.