法律英语：111 The Right to Assemble

by Michael W. Flynn

 

First, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed¹ to practice in your jurisdiction².  Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.   

 

Today’s topic. James from Atlanta wrote:

 

My question pertains³ to city parks. These areas are owned by the city and maintained with taxpayer⁴ dollars, making them public places. Do city ordinances⁵ setting park hours conflict with the U.S. constitutional right to assemble? It seems to me that a public place should be accessible to the public at all times.

 

The short answer is that the Constitution guarantees the right to public assembly, but that the government may place reasonable restrictions⁷ on the time, place and manner for using a public space. 

 

The First Amendment⁸ to the United States Constitution provides:

 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging⁹ the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress¹⁰ of grievances¹¹.

 

Please note that, while the text seems to apply only to Congress, the First Amendment applies to state and local governments also by operation of the Fourteenth Amendment. This is known as the “incorporation doctrine,” which I do not have time to discuss in detail. Suffice it to say, the First Amendment applies to your local city government. 

 

The text of the amendment states that the government “shall make no law” that abridges¹² free speech and peaceable assembly, so it seems that James is on to something. If the local city government enacts¹³ a rule that closes city parks at 10 P.M., this would seem to be a law that abridges free speech and assembly. But, the Supreme¹⁴ Court has interpreted this language to permit the government to place reasonable restrictions on the time, place and manner in which people publicly speak or assemble.

 

There are several facets¹⁵ to this area of law. The first is that the government cannot generally place restrictions on the content of the speech, or the reason for which citizens might assemble. So, it would be unconstitutional to ban the dissemination¹⁶ of pamphlets that seek donations to the Ku Klux Klan. While people might disagree with the KKK and its speech, the government cannot create any rule where the KKK is censored¹⁷. The Supreme Court has long acknowledged that the remedy for repugnant speech is not government censorship, but simply more speech. The remedy is to allow the KKK to speak and assemble, and also to allow other citizens who disagree with the KKK to speak back, and to assemble to protest the KKK. 

 

While the government cannot restrict what is said, it can restrict where and when it is said. While speech and assembly are fundamentally important to a free and democratic society, the Supreme Court has recognized that a government’s ability to keep order is sometimes more important.  Imagine what would happen if the government had no power to control speech. Then, a protest group would have the right to stand in the middle of a public highway during rush hour, blocking traffic and shutting down commerce. Or, the protest group could stand in the middle of the town square with a megaphone and bellow¹⁸ through the night, waking people up and disturbing them in their homes. 

 

The Supreme Court has struck a balance between these competing goals of free speech and keeping order. The Court has held that the government may place reasonable restrictions on the time, the place, and the manner in which people speak and assemble. So, the government can limit the hours of assembly in a public park so long as that limitation is reasonable. Courts have consistently held that shutting down public parks at night is a reasonable thing to do, even if it means that people will not be able to utilize¹⁹ the park to assemble. A court would not likely look favorably on a rule that only allowed groups to protest from 10:37 to 11:18 on alternate Thursdays because this rule would limit speech in an unreasonable²⁰ manner, and in a way that has no rational connection to the government’s legitimate²¹ interest in maintaining its public spaces. 

 

Courts have also upheld noise ordinances that limit the use of megaphones. This is considered a reasonable restriction⁶ on the manner in which a person speaks. Governments can also limit the medium of speech, such as prohibiting writing a message in spray paint on the front door of city hall. 

 

Last, courts have upheld a local government’s ability to require a permit for large assemblies. For example, imagine that a veteran’s group and an anti-war group both wanted to assemble in front of city hall on Veteran’s Day. The city needs a way to accommodate both and allow both groups to assemble, so it can set up a process where a permit is required beforehand. This way, the city can avoid the problem of two large groups trying to congregate²² in a small space at the same time. So long as the permitting process is generally fair, and divests²³ the government from making arbitrary decisions about which groups to support, then the city can require that groups get permits. As discussed above, the city cannot choose which group to give the permit to based on which group it likes better. That would be an example of the government controlling speech based on its content. 

 

So James, the city does have the right to close public parks at night even though it has some impact on your ability to meet there.

 

Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful²⁴ Life.  Be sure to check out all the excellent Quick and Dirty Tips podcasts at QuickAndDirtyTips.com.

 

You can send questions and comments to...........or call them in to the voicemail line at 206-202-4LAW.  Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

 

Legal Lad's theme music is "No Good Layabout" by Kevin MacLeod.

 

1 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

2 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

3 pertains   

关于( pertain的第三人称单数 )； 有关； 存在； 适用

参考例句：

• When one manages upward, none of these clear and unambiguous symbols pertains. 当一个人由下而上地管理时，这些明确无误的信号就全都不复存在了。
• Her conduct hardly pertains to a lady. 她的行为与女士身份不太相符。

4 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

5 ordinances   

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句
• Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

6 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

9 abridging   

节略( abridge的现在分词 )； 减少； 缩短； 剥夺（某人的）权利（或特权等）

参考例句：

• He's currently abridging his book. 他正在对他的书进行删节。
• First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech." （美国宪法）第一修正案规定议会不应该通过减损（公民）言论自由的法律。

10 redress   

n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除

参考例句：

• He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
• Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。

11 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 abridges   

节略( abridge的第三人称单数 )； 减少； 缩短； 剥夺（某人的）权利（或特权等）

参考例句：

13 enacts   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The legislative branch enacts laws; the executive branch enforces them, and the judicial branch interprets them. 立法部门制订法律，行政部门执行法律，司法部门解释法律。
• Hold phasic characteristic correctly, ability enacts the policy with an actual suit, measure. 正确地把握形势特点，才能制定出切合实际的政策、措施。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

15 facets   

n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面

参考例句：

• The question had many facets. 这个问题是多方面的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fully cut brilliant diamond has 68 facets. 经过充分切刻的光彩夺目的钻石有68个小平面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 dissemination   

传播,宣传,传染(病毒)

参考例句：

• The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传，误人不浅。
• He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。

17 censored   

受审查的，被删剪的

参考例句：

• The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
• The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。

18 bellow   

v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道

参考例句：

• The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大，我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
• After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。

19 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

20 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

21 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

22 congregate   

v.(使)集合，聚集

参考例句：

• Now they can offer a digital place for their readers to congregate and talk.现在他们可以为读者提供一个数字化空间，让读者可以聚集和交谈。
• This is a place where swans congregate.这是个天鹅聚集地。

23 divests   

v.剥夺( divest的第三人称单数 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服

参考例句：

• The court order divests the company of all its assets. 法院指令剝夺了公司的所有资产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Along with the accelerated competition in telecom market, mobile services divests part of fixed telephone services. 随着电信市场竞争的加剧，全球固话业务被移动分流。 来自互联网

24 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。