Judge Regina Quinlan ruled that the Nation of Islam had a First Amendment right to bar Marceline Donaldson from a 1994 public gathering.

				FARRAKHAN DISCRIMINATION SUIT
				August 4 Update August 5 Update August 9 (Judge Dismisses Suit)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Court TV) — Ruling that the Nation of Islam has a First Amendment right to turn people away from public religious events, a Massachusetts judge threw out a suit brought by a woman accusing the group and Louis Farrakhan of discrimination because they barred her entrance to a 1994 "men's only" speech.

In her ruling Monday, Judge Regina Quinlan said that the Nation of Islam's actions were protected under the First Amendment's guarantees of freedom of religion and assembly. In their suit, Marceline Donaldson and her husband, Robert Bennett sought injunctive relief to prevent the Nation of Islam from barring people from gatherings in public places because of race, sex, religion, or sexual preference.

In March, 1994, Donaldson, a Boston entrepreneur, and Bennett went to Boston's Strand Theatre to attend the speech given by Farrakhan. The subject of the Nation of Islam gathering was "Men's meeting on black on black crime, violence and drugs in communities of color." Despite the theme of the event, Donaldson and Bennett did not think they would have trouble being admitted.

However, when they approached the theatre entrance, Donaldson and Bennett were told by an attendant that Donaldson could not enter because the speech was only open to men. The same attendant allowed Bennett to pass, but Bennett refused to enter the theatre without his wife, and both left without attending the event.

Donaldson and Bennett also sought compensatory and punitive damages for alleged emotional distress.

If the Nation of Islam had chosen to bar Donaldson from attending a gathering at its own mosque, its lawyers could have then argued that Farrakhan and Nation leaders were following their beliefs in a religious setting. But Boston's Strand Theatre is a public place, and Massachusetts law prohibits barring people from public places because of their race or sex. However, despite state law, the judge sided with the Nation of Islam and agreed that it had a right to conduct a private religious event according to the tenets of its beliefs.

In addition to the First Amendment argument, attorneys representing Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam claimed in court papers that the attendant who turned Donaldson away was not acting as a member of the Nation of Islam. The defendants' attorneys also argued that some women were allowed into Farrakhan's speech and that Donaldson was really turned away because the Strand was filled to capacity.

Donald Muhammad, the head of the Nation of Islam's Boston mosque, testified Thursday that his group had a right to conduct a private religious event for men. According to Muhammed, the Nation only wanted to have a private religious meeting and did not intend to discriminate against anyone.

Donaldson and Bennet told jurors last week that it was devastating to be turned away — discriminated against — by their own people, especially since, they claimed, they had fought for civil rights all their lives.

Court TV's Bryan Robinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright© 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.