Yoga classes in San Diego parks and beaches can continue.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday unanimously rejected a request to reconsider a previous court ruling which concluded the city’s ordinance banning yoga classes in public places was unconstitutional.
Earlier this year, a three-judge panel had ruled yoga classes are protected by the First Amendment. However, all judges on the Ninth Circuit have now rejected a city petition to rehear the case with a larger panel of judges, known as an en banc hearing.
In its ruling this week, the court found that public yoga in outdoor places falls within the Constitution’s First Amendment protecting fundamental freedoms including religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government.
San Diego initially implemented its ban as part of an ordinance regulating street vendors, classifying yoga classes attended by four or more people as commercial activity requiring a permit. The city argued the ban was necessary to manage public spaces and ensure safety.
Bryan Pease, the attorney representing Pacific Beach and Sunset Cliffs yoga instructors Amy Baack and Steven Hubbard, said the city never explained why it included free beach yoga classes in its vending ordinance.
“This is a textbook example of the violation of the First Amendment and government overreach,” he said. “I don’t know who thinks (beach yoga) is a problem.”
The city’s last avenue to pursue the case would be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We have no comment on pending litigation,” Ibrahim Ahmed, a city attorney spokesperson, wrote in a response to a question on the city’s next steps.
But Pease said the case is likely over, and the ban is done.
“They could petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, but that’s not going to happen,” he said.
The U.S. Supreme Court receives 7,000 to 8,000 petitions to review cases each year, but hears oral arguments in fewer than 3% of them., or about 80 to 100 per year. The Court denies the vast majority of petitions it receives because it cannot handle every case and must select those that address important legal questions, national importance, or disagreements among lower courts.
“Not one judge in the entire Ninth Circuit agreed with the city’s position, or thought it had any merit.”
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