1. Chapter 13 Constitutional Freedoms Section 5
CP US Government
Mrs. Donini

2. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
Section Focus Questions
Which of the listed actions do you think might require a permit?
2) Which of the actions would probably be against the law? Explain your answer.
3) Which action could be held with no limitations at all?

3. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
Did You Know ?
Burning an American flag during a demonstration protesting some action or policy of the government may be unpopular, but it is not illegal. Why? The Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment because it is symbolic speech.

4. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
I. Protecting Freedom of Assembly
Freedom of assembly is a right closely related to freedom of speech.
The Supreme Court, in DeJonge v. Orgeon (1937), ruled that free assembly is as important as free press and free speech and that free assembly is protected from state and local governments.
Freedom of assembly includes the right to parade and hold demonstrations in public places, but those who organize the events must get a permit.

5. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
I. Protecting Freedom of Assembly
Demonstrations at public facilities may be limited
Demonstrations are not allowed on private property, such as shopping malls and abortion clinics, because they interfere with property rights.

6. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
Discussion Question
When might freedom of assembly conflict with the public’s right to order and safety, and which do you think is more important? Pg

7. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
II. Public Assembly and Disorder
When people assemble to advocate unpopular causes, police may have difficulty protecting them from violence and disorder.
The Nazi party march in Skokie, Illinois, in 1977 illustrated the heckler’s veto: the public vetoes the rights of free speech and assembly of an unpopular group.

8. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
II. Public Assembly and Disorder
Police may disperse a demonstration in order to keep the peace, but in the Gregory case (1969), the Court upheld the right of assembly by persons peacefully demonstrating in support of an unpopular cause.

9. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
Discussion Question - How effective do you think the heckler’s veto would be in your community? Pg. 379

10. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
III. Protection for Labor Picketing
Labor picketing is different from other demonstrations; it seeks to persuade customers not to deal with a business whose workers are on strike.
Before 1940 the Supreme Court supported restraints on labor picketing, but in that year it ruled that picketing was a form of free speech; in the years since, forms of picketing have been limited in several key rulings.

11. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
Discussion Question
Compare labor picketing with other kinds of demonstrations. In what ways are they the same and different?

12. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
Answer
Picketing is a form of free speech, but it includes a picket line which may deprive a business of customers or workers.

13. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
IV. Freedom of Association
The right of free assembly includes the right of free association, including joining a political party, interest group, or other organization.
Membership in groups advocating the use of force to overthrow the government, the Court has ruled, is not illegal; when members of such groups actually prepare to use such force, however, the acts are punishable.

14. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
Discussion Question
How did the Supreme Court apply the clear and present danger doctrine to membership in subversive groups?

15. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
Answer
In the 1950s the Court upheld convictions against Communist party members. Later it ruled that merely advocating a belief did not show a “clear and present danger”.

16. Chapter 13 - Section 5 Freedom of Assembly
Review
What are two reasons the right to assemble is important to preserve in a democracy and two reasons it can be limited?
What two principles were established by the DeJonge decisions?
Should more restrictions apply if a parade supports an unpopular cause? Explain.

17. Clear and present danger was a term used by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in the unanimous opinion for the case Schenck v. United States,[1] concerning the ability of the government to regulate speech against the draft during World War I:
The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that the United States Congress has a right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree. When a nation is at war, many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight, and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right.
Following Schenck v. United States, "clear and present danger" became both a public metaphor for First Amendment speech[2][3] and a standard test in cases before the Court where a United States law limits a citizen's First Amendment rights; the law is deemed to be constitutional if it can be shown that the language it prohibits poses a "clear and present danger". However, the "clear and present danger" criterion of the Schenck decision was replaced in 1969 by Brandenburg v. Ohio,[4] and the test refined to determining whether the speech would provoke an "imminent lawless action".