''Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia'', 710 F.2d 1542 (11th Cir. 1983), is a

United States federal court The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...

case in which the court found that the exhibition of a talking

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

was an occupation for the purposes of municipal licensing law. In May 1981, Carl and Elaine Miles, an otherwise unemployed couple, began exhibiting

Blackie the Talking Cat Blackie may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Blackie, Alberta, Canada * Blackie Lake, California, United States People and fictional characters * Blackie (surname) * Blackie (nickname), including people and fictional characters nicknamed either Bl ...

on the streets of

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

. Blackie would meow "I love you" or "I want my Mama" to passers-by, who would give small change to the Mileses. About a month later, police warned the couple that they risked jail time if they did not obtain a $50 business license. The Mileses purchased the license but sued the city in federal court on grounds that the city's licensing law was vague and too broad and violated their right to free speech and association; specifically, the plaintiffs complained that neither the city charter, which allowed the city council to require a license for any "occupation, trade or business," nor the license ordinance mentioned talking animals. The Mileses lost the first round of the case in district court in 1982. In his decision, the judge said:

In their brief, plaintiffs cite several definitions of the terms "occupation" and "business." The general import of these definitions is that one is engaged in an occupation or business when that work or activity occupies one's time or attention on a regular basis for profit or support. ''See United States v. King'', 532 F.2d 505, 510 (5th Cir.1976); ''Southern Guaranty Insurance Company v. Duncan'', 131 Ga.App. 761, 764, 206 S.E.2d 672 (1974). Inasmuch as the ordinance does not define "occupation" or "business", the common definition cited above applies. ... Plaintiffs' activity, regardless of its peculiarity, falls within this definition.

The following year, a three-judge panel of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

affirmed the lower-court decision, adding the following in a footnote:

This Court will not hear a claim that Blackie's right to free speech has been infringed. First, although Blackie arguably possesses a very unusual ability, he cannot be considered a "person" and is therefore not protected by the Bill of Rights. Second, even if Blackie had such a right, we see no need for appellants to assert his right ''
jus tertii ''Jus tertii'' (English: third party rights) is the legal classification for an argument made by a third party (as opposed to the legal title holder) which attempts to justify entitlement to possessory rights based on the showing of legal title in ...
''. Blackie can clearly speak for himself.

West Publishing West (also known by its original name, West Publishing) is a business owned by Thomson Reuters that publishes legal, business, and regulatory information in print, and on electronic services such as Westlaw. Since the late 19th century, West ha ...

featured the case in its 1996 book ''Blackie the Talking Cat and Other Favorite Judicial Opinions.''

See also

References

Further reading