LTC 489-2023 Victory on Appeal in Jared McGriff, et al. v. City of Miami Beach, et al.MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
L TC No. _______ _
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
LETTER TO COMMISSION
Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
Rafael A. Paz, City Attorney �
November 1, 2023
Victory on Appeal in Jared McGriff, et al. v. City of Miami Beach, et al.
I am pleased to provide you with an update to L TC No. 116-2022, which reported a federal court
victory in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, granting final summary
judgment in favor of the City of Miami Beach in the case of McGriff v. City of Miami Beach. On
October 27, 2023, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
unanimously affirmed that decision, and again ruled in favor of the City.
The lawsuit arose out of the City's efforts to promote unity and positivity during Memorial Day
weekend 2019. To that end, the City hired event coordinators to produce art exhibits, funded and
approved by the City, to promote that theme. The Plaintiffs, who were hired by the City to produce
the City events, alleged that the City violated their First Amendment rights when the City chose
not to display a controversial and divisive art installation during the City's programming.
The U.S. District Court agreed with the City that the decision to remove the divisive artwork did
not violate the Plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. The Court found, under the specific facts of this
case, that the City's art events were government speech. The government speech doctrine stands
for the proposition that the government is free to promote its own message by choosing not to
display artwork that was inconsistent with its message, if the prerequisites of the doctrine have
been satisfied. Here, the Court ruled the City had met the elements to qualify under the
government speech doctrine.
The Plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The appeal was hotly
contested, with substantial briefing on both sides, culminating in an appellate oral argument held
on September 22, 2023. Chief Deputy City Attorney Rob Rosenwald argued on behalf of the City.
In its published decision, the appellate court agreed with the City and affirmed the final summary
judgment in the City's favor.
The case was litigated entirely in-house by Chief Deputy City Attorney Rob, First Assistant City
Attorney Henry J. Hunnefeld, Senior Assistant City Attorney Freddi Mack, and Assistant City
Attorney Benjamin Braun.
A copy of the Eleventh Circuit's well-reasoned decision is attached.
489-2023
As always, please feel free to contact me or Rob Rosenwald for further information about this or
any City litigation matter.
RAP/RFR/ag