Fifth Circuit Affirms First Amendment Victory and Revives Broader Challenge to Mississippi Courthouse Speech Restrictions

On September 17, 2026, Simpson Thacher and the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi secured a significant appellate victory on behalf of documentary filmmaker, photographer and visual artist John Rash in Rash v. Lafayette County, Mississippi. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a permanent injunction barring Lafayette County from enforcing a curfew that prohibited expressive activity on courthouse grounds after dark, reversed the district court's ruling that Rash lacked standing to challenge several other policy provisions, and remanded the case for further proceedings.

The case arose after Lafayette County denied Mr. Rash's application to hold a community art event featuring projected artwork on the walls of the courthouse as part of Oxford's Fringe Festival. Although the event had previously taken place without incident, Lafayette County decided to restrict expression in the town square during a time of widespread local and national debate on racial justice including over the confederate monument on the County Courthouse grounds, ultimately closing them from dusk until dawn. Mr. Rash challenged the restrictions as violations of his right to free expression and assembly protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The case was tried in Greenville, Mississippi in 2024.

Affirming the district court's ruling, the Fifth Circuit concluded that the County failed to demonstrate that its restrictions materially advanced public safety concerns, emphasizing that alleged harms must be "real, not merely conjectural." In addition to preserving the permanent injunction, the court revived broader constitutional claims challenging the County's permitting framework, allowing those claims to proceed before the district court.

“In a quintessential public forum like the courthouse grounds in the Oxford town square, Lafayette Countians and Americans have the right to assemble, protest and debate the issues of the day. Lafayette County tried to stifle that right. With this ruling, the Fifth Circuit has reaffirmed it,” said Joshua Tom, legal director at ACLU of Mississippi.

“The ruling reaffirms that the government cannot place unnecessary burdens on protected expression, and we look forward to continuing to protect the First Amendment rights at stake in this case,” said Jon Youngwood, Co-Chair of Simpson Thacher’s Global Litigation Department.

“Art, speech and public dialogue are all part of what makes a community vibrant,” said John Rash. “I’m grateful for this decision and hopeful that it will help preserve public spaces as places where people can share ideas, perspectives and creative expression.”

The Simpson Thacher team included Jon Youngwood, Janet Gochman and Alison Draikiwicz working alongside Joshua Tom of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi and C. Jackson Williams on behalf of John Rash.