9th Circuit Tosses|1st Amendment Claim

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A security zone around the Hawaiian Superferry does not infringe on protesters' First Amendment rights, the 9th Circuit ruled.

Megan Wong and 21 other protesters of the ferry's operation sued the federal government, stating that the Coast Guard prevented them from forming a blockade of its entrance. This violated their First Amendment rights, they said.

Judge Wardlaw affirmed the district court's decision that the plaintiffs' rights were not violated.

"Some forms of conduct are protected as symbolic speech, but the Supreme Court has extended First Amendment protection only to conduct that is inherently expressive," Wardlaw wrote.

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