Cases

Tait v. City of Philadelphia
Philadelphia Tour Guides Stand Up For the Framers’ Vision of Freedom

	IJ Clients Mike Tait, Ann Boulais and Josh Silver

Effective in October 2008, tour guides in Philadelphia will be subject to hundreds of dollars in fines for engaging in unauthorized talking.  A law enacted April 2008 will make it illegal for anyone to give a tour of much of the city’s downtown area without first getting the government’s permission to speak. 

The irony of forbidding people to talk about Philadelphia’s history—including the Declaration of Independence and Liberty Bell—is not lost on Mike Tait, Josh Silver and Ann Boulais, three Philadelphians who make their living by telling visitors and natives about the history, culture and architecture of the place they love. 

Simply put, the Constitution protects the right to communicate for a living, whether as a journalist, a musician or a tour guide.  That is why on July 2, 2008, Mike, Josh and Ann joined forces with the Institute for Justice to file suit challenging Philadelphia’s tour-guide licensing scheme as a violation of their fundamental constitutional rights.