Petition — Concerned Jewish Youth v. McGuire
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Supreme Court, UJ.
FILED .
80-7 '7%9 NOV 24 {989
No. MICHAEL RODAK, JR, CLERK
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
October Term, 1980
CONCERNED JEWISH YOUTH,
Petitioner,
~against-
ROBERT J. MCGUIRE, in his official
capacity as Police Commissioner of
the City of New York, EDWARD KOCH,
in his official capacity as the
Mayor of the City of New York, and
the NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT,
Respondents.
PETITION FOR A WRIT OF
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED
STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
HOWARD C. BUSCHMAN III
Attorney for Petitioner
153 East 53rd Street
New York, N.Y. 10022
(212) 935-8000
John M. McEnany
Jeanne M. Luboja ,
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Of Counsel
QUESTION PRESENTED
Are prior restraints imposed by the
New York City Police Department which:
(a) completely ban the use of ampli-
fied sound on the New York City block
cortaining the Missions of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics and the
Ukranian Soviet Socialist Republic
("Soviet Mission") in violation of a
New York City ordinance mandating the
police to grant a permit allowing the
use of such equipment;
(b) prohibit peaceful and orderly
demonstrations by Concerned Jewish
Youth ("CJY") in front of the Soviet
Mission; and
(c) limit the number of members of
CJY who may participate in peaceful and
orderly demonstrations on the Soviet
Mission block to twelve persons in a
cordoned off area across the street and
v=
down at the end of the block on which
the Soviet Mission is located
individually and cumulatively valid under
the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the
United States Constitution?
7%
i
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUESTION PRESENTED......cseeesecsees i
TABLE OF CONTENTS...ccccccccccccccece iii
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES... .cscccccccces vii
OPINIONS BELOW... cccccccccccscccccces 1
JURISDICTION... ccccccccccccccccccccs 2
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
AND STATUTES BE £66 Oh bbs 06% 66% 2
STATEMENT OF THE Cen a6 vb 2 deb se 662 3
DER sg S468 6 cE CO Cab 068 6kSS UK ew ES 4
1. Imposition of Prior Re-
Straints and Denial of
Sound Permits to CJUY........e. 5
z. The Dollinger Decision....... 7
3. Enforcement of the
Dollinger Decision
Against All Demonstrators.... 8
4. Police Failure to Make Any
Individual Assessments....... 10
5. The Truncated June 1978 CJyYy
DEMORSCEASSONns é és dance soense ll
6. The Violence that has
Occurred at the Soviet
Mission is not Attrib-
UCORLE O26 CIE i eke ke Ker veces 12
iii
Page
7. The Proceedings Below........ 16
REASONS FOR GRANTING THE WRIT....... 19
I. THE DECISION BELOW, IN SUSTAIN-
ING THE BAN ON SOUND EQUIPMENT
ON THE MISSION BLOCK, SHARPLY
CONFLICTS WITH THE PRIOR HOLD-
INGS OF THIS COURT AND RAISES
DISTURBING LIMITATIONS ON
FF@EDOM OF SPEECH REQUIRING
RE. IEW BY THIS COURT......eee00- 23
A. In Denying a Sound Equip-
ment Permit to CJY, the
Police Violated the
Governing Ordinance......... 24
B. Prior Restraints on
Freedom of Speech which
Violate the Express
Terms of an Ordinance
Allowing Speech Should
BO COMGRIIIGs cc ben ccsbccoccs 27
C. The Restraint on Sound
Equipment is Unsupported
by Any Governmental
Interest Articulated by
Congress in Discharging
the United States
Obligation to Protect
Foreign MiSSiONS......cseeees 32
D. The Poiice Policy is
ee 2 er re ee 33
E. The Reasoning of the
Majority Below is
Seriously Flawed...... cess. 35
iv
II. THE DECISION BELOW, IN SUS-
TAINING THE BAN ON DEMONSTRA-
TIONS IN FRONT OF THE MISSION
AND THE LIMITATION OF THE
NUMBER OF DEMONSTRATORS TO
TWELVE, FURTHER CONFLICTS WITH
PRIOR HOLDINGS OF THIS COURT
AND SANCTIONS VIOLATIONS OF
CJY'S FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS...
A. Blanket Removal of Peace-
ful Demonstrators from
the Target Significantly
Diminishes Speech..........
B. Permitting only Twelve
Demonstrators on a City
Block Diminishes Speech....
C. Congress Avoided These
Restraints in Satisfying
the United States Obliga-
tion to Protect Missions...
D. The Restraints are
Ny, oh ec pniceen és é
E. The Right to Demon-
strate is to be Judged
on an Individual Basis
and not on the Basis
of Conduct by Others.......
F. Section 435 of the New
York City Charter Does
Not and Constitution-
ally Cannot Authorize
CRO RESCESLAES. «do ciccwecse
CG ob deeecesecéevcsaswescnéann
36
42
48
53
55
57
61
Appendix A: Opinion of the
United States Court of
Appeals for the Second
iss 6 Male iia Witte bo Réb cece A-1l
Appendix B: Opinion of the
United States District
Court for the Southern |
District of New a sk 6 6 abe A-56
Appendix C: United States
Constitution: Amendment I
and Amendment TE die OOe 6 witce ops bbe A-92
Appendix D: Statutes 18 U.S.C.
Oy Mica ath hy lac eal it SN kT i A-94
Appendix E: Administrative
Code of the City of New York
§ See PeSr sks s EWC Oo beatae cee. A-99
Appendix F: New York City
Charter § ea a ob Winkwiéaes 6d.0ud «ie A-112
Appendix G: Map of Soviet
Mission en's ba b dees 6 60 eo woke A-115
vi
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases
Page
Adderley v. Florida, 385 U.S. 29
Pe LS ed bak Oke Ce cde bbe s cee 38
Alderman v. Philadelphia Housin
Authorit 496 F.2d 164
(3d Cir.) cert. denied, 419
Gis 844 PP Ean 6 Nan os So Ree 66a theese en 39
A Quaker Action Group v. Hickel,
421 F.2d llll (D.C. Cir. 1969)...46, 47
A Quaker Action Group v. Morton,
362 F. Supp. 1161 (D.D.C. 1973),
ate*aG, Sie 2.260 7i7 (D.C. Cie.
BOIS Cesdaeceveceeubevéecovresseuaie 28, 29,
+43, 45, 46
Carroll v. President and Comm'rs
of Princess Anne, 393 U.S. 175
Cas ialad's wold Sob 664 we Me wabeues Vee ee 38
Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15
reh. denied, 404 U.S. 876
(fT ss: semi wrersygh ira NAS AIRF Sara erat Se eg ee 38
Concerned Jewish Youth v. McGuire,
469 F. Supp. 1296 (S.D.N.Y.
1979), aff'd, 621 F.2d 471
(20: CAS, Seed cacccccvdieosveas 19; 234: 48
Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 536
[AROOs oud be ewe daha cece bedecdvcese6ee> 47
Edwards v. South Carolina, 372
i mM 229 fi +) PER SOMERS Pree 59
vii
Page
Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder, 425
U.S. 185 reh. denied, 425 U.S.
986 [ToD os bon 6a sie bowie b66 ee eek's 57
Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408
U.S. 104 OL Lys POPPPRPETeS TP 3G, sis Bae
37, 41, 43
Greenberg v. Murphy, 329 F. Supp.
37 (S.D.N.Y. DEED Edens Os eeobe ee bees 43
Gregory v. Chicago, 394 U.S. lll
CRONE heh ewbetensc covadaedecaceoceccendie 38
Hague v. C.1.0., 307 U.S. 496
(1939) weceeeceeeernnerneveeeeeeee aly 39
ISKON v. City of New York,
No. 79 Civ. 1118 (S.D.N.Y.
RUGUSE 25, L9EO) cccccccccvcccscccces 4a
Kovacs v. Cooper, 336 U.S. 77
TZPER) Cede eensécrocevoueeaee 27, 29, 30,
31, 32, 38
Kunz v. New York, 340 U.S. 290
es Si eee 38
Lehman v. ce of Shaker Heights,
418 Dee ( STi ckeb we ckh = 60668 40
Maldonado v. County of Monterey,
330 F. Supp. 1383 (N.D. Cal.
SPEED boats eae CUES 6 OUR CH bO es eek eee 31ln
Millan House Inc. v. Murphy,
Civ. No. 10560/1971 (Sup.
Ct. N.Y. County, July 6,
BP TRS cab b<chbebsnseccubeséela 7n, 8, 9,
10, 16, 18
viii
Niemotko v. Maryland, 340 U.S.
268 (1950) (Frankfurter, J.
CORCUEE ING) oecccccacdesesevccccendlsy
Organization for a Better Austin
v. Keefe, 402 U.S. 415 (1971).......
Packard Motor Car Co. v. NLRB,
330 U.S. 485 CRT Fhe abs Bh 6602 00s
People v. Solomonow, 56 Misc.2d
1050, 291 N.Y.S.2d 145 (Sup.
-~ 1966) cccundse che o O6twubee nice eSB,
People v. Taub, 37 N.Y.2d 530,
375 N.Y.S.2d 303, 337 N.E.2d
754 (AS TOs cuba de Pee Gate hecéeecce
Phillips v. Township of Darby, Pa.,
305 F. Supp. 763 (E.D. Pa.
Page
60
38
58
59
a
LOGS) co ocd GSR SUEUR ES wee ceredcecce 3ln
Police Department of the Cit
of Chicago Vv. Mosley, 408 U.S.
92 (£9 FSP 0c eb bee eubeeetaebasecsioe 43,
$5.
Saia v. New York, 334 U.S. 558
(aROG) 55 8c ceases sb cke ils
Santa Fe Industries Inc. v.
Green, 430 U.S. 462 (1977)... ccccece
Schneider v. State, 308 U.S. 147
(AF SS) cccccsutebessebniodecoseseeedty
Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S. 479
(AFORE) ce ceceuse stake beseikesbcnsece
ix
44,
56
38
57
41
41
Page
Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham,
394 eM 147 ERE ihinin + w6 6s aheee ie 59
Southeastern Promotions, Ltd.
v. Conrad, 450 U.S. 456 546
(APTS atone b5b be bbe 0s bese ees cece 40, 41
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent
Community School District, 393
Gels 503 Sea oe aa ea «bbb 6 8.66.00 56
Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington,
442 i 560 Lee Ache wee wet detvéees 57
United States v. Oregon, 366
U.S. 643 CR ed ie te 58
Virginia State Board of Pharmacy
v. Virginia Citizens Consumer
Council, 425 U.S. 748 Et secapneet 4h
Wisconsin Student Ass'n Vv.
Regents, 318 F. Supp. 591
(W.D. Wis. ial FU ck 6 ace a be oe wae ows 3ln
Women Strike for Peace v.
Morton, F. a ee
Cir. Dib he Gn ea ke Bee 66 6e bh edb ecce 39
United States Constitution
PESOC: AONEMORE Ss occ ccccccveeses a, 28, 2,
23, 37, 60
Fourteenth Amendment.....cseccsccseee 2, 3
Treaties
Vienna Convention of Diplomatic
Relations, 23 U.S.T. 3227 (1967).... 32
Page
Statutes and Regulations
Act for the Prevention and
Punishment of Crimes against
Internat: onally Protected
Persons, 18 U.S.C. § 112,
Pub. L. No. 94-467 §§ 5, 10,
90 Stat. 1977 (1976) .cccccececds, 10, lil,
33, 48, 49,
50, 52, 53
Act for Protection of Foreign
Officials and Official Guests
of the United States, Pub. L.
No. 92-539, § 3, 86 Stat.
BOUU. CAPITA vesicnce scvsseseatrecveadan, $2
Administrative Code of the City
Of New York 3 435-6.0 (1976)....3, 6, 9,
19, 24, 25,
26, 34, 35
Administrative Procedure Act,
5 U.S.C. s§$ 551 et seq. (1976)...... 28
Agreement Between the United
Nations and the United States’
of America Regarding the
Headquarters of the United
Nations, § 16, 61 Stat. 758
PATE én.6 6 4¥ eee bbee he be eek dbeeaacer 32
36 C.FP.R. § 50.19(d) (2) (1973) ..cccccee 28
New York City Charter § 435
CSD TO) Cc vi deeeeehacecdisrtene 16, 18, 57,
58, 59, 60
Page
New York City Noise Control
Code, Administrative Code
of the City of New York
§$ 1403.3-1.01 et seq. (1979)....... 26
New York Penal Law § 240.20
(1980) cn ccccccccccccccccccccccccccces
28 U.S.C. 1254 FAPGEP 6odébeceonceeéoeos 2
28 U.S.C. 1343 (1979) eoeenseeeeeeeeeeeeenee 3
42 8.8. 1983 (1979) eeeeeeeeeeeeneeeeee 3
Congressional Reports
H.R. Rep. No. 94-1614, 94th Cong.,
2d Sess. 6, 1976 U.S. Code
Cong. & Admin. News 4480.......50n, 5ln
S. Rep. No. 92-1105, 92d Cong.,
2d Sess., 1972 U.S. Code Cong.
& Admin. News a 51
S. Rep. No. 94-1273, 94th Cong.,
2d Sess. 8 (1976° ...ceeeeeeeee 50m, Sln
Other Authorities
L. Tribe, American Constitutional
Law LATO) cocvoseesédnaatvireossaate 4l, 42
xii
No.
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
October Term, 1980
CONCERNED JEWISH YOUTH,
Petitioner,
-against-
ROBERT J. MCGUIRE, in his official
capacity as Police Commissioner of
the City of New York, EDWARD KOCH,
in his official capacity as the
Mayor of the City of New York, and
the NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT,
Respondents.
PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO
THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
OPINIONS BELOW
Concerned Jewish Youth ("CJY") peti-
tions this Court, pursuant to Rule 19 of
the Rules of this Court, to review the
decision and order of the United States
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
(Moore and Waterman, J.J.; Mansfield, J.
dissenting), rehearing denied August 28,
1980, affirming the order and judgment of
the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York dismissing
the Complaint herein and upholding prior
restraints on CJY's freedom of speech
under the First Amendment. The appeals
court decision is appended hereto at A-1
to A-55 and is reported at 621 F.2d 471
(2d Cir. 1980). The district court deci-
sion is appended hereto at A-56 to A-91l
and is reported at 469 F. Supp. 1296
(S.D.N.Y. 1979).
JURISDICTION
The judgment of the Court of Appeals
was rendered and entered on March 27, 1:80
and rehearing was denied on August 28,
1980. The jurisdiction of this Court is
invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1254(1).
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
AND STATUTES INVOLVED
This proceeding involves the First
and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitu-
tion of the United States (A-92 to A-93),1
the Act for the Prevention and Punishment
of Crimes against Internationally Protected
Persons, 18 U.S.C. § 112 (1976) (A-94 to
A-98), Section 435-6.0 of the Administra-
tive Code of the City of New York (1976)
(A-99 to A-1l11) and Section 435 of the New
York City Charter (1976) (A-112 to A-114).
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
This action under 28 U.S.C. § 1343
and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1979) seeks injunc-
tive relief prohibiting the New York City
Police Department from continuing to im-
pose prior restraints upon peaceful demon-
strations in the New York City block (Fast
67th Street between Lexington and Third
1 fhe pertinent text of the constitu-
tional provisions, treaties, statutes,
ordinances and regulations involved in
this proceeding is set forth in the
appendix and references to such text in
this petition for a writ of certiorari
are designated as "A-_ to A-__".
Avenues) on which the missions to the
United Nations of the Union of Soviet So-
Cialist Republics and the Ukrainian Soviet
Socialist Republic (the "Mission") are
located.
The prior restraints are threefold:
(i) amplified sound equipment at any deci-
bel level is banned from the Mission block
at all times; (ii) all demonstrators are
banned from demonstrating in front of the
Mission or anywhere along the sidewalk on
the Mission side of the block; and (iii)
demonstrations on the block are limited to
twelve demonstrators who are placed behind
police barricades in an area across the
street and down the block from the Mission.
Facts
CJY is a membership association
founded in 1975 and headquartered at Queens
College in Flushing, New York. (Tr. 3-5.) 2
The group is composed of approximately 300
students of whom some fifty to seventy are
active members. Its purposes include com-
batting anti-Semitism, helping the Jewish
poor and working for the cause of Soviet
and Arab Jewry. CJY is differentiated
from other groups such as the Jewish De-
fense League by its emphasis on preserving
Judaic heritage through educational activ-
ities and non-violent demonstration.
1. Imposition of Prior Restraints
and Denial of Sound Permits
to CJY.
CJY twice sought to protest on the
sidewalk before the Mission to condemn the
Soviet Union's treatment of Jews. On each
occasion, it applied at the 19th precinct
station of the New York Police Department
2 References to the transcript of the
hearing held in the district court are
designated as "Tr.",
for a permit, pursuant to Section 435-6.0
of the New York City Administrative Code
(the “Administrative Code") to use sound
amplification equipment in connection with
the planned demonstration.
CJY informed the police that it
desired to hold a rally on the sidewalk
directly in front of the Soviet Mission
with a group of twenty-five to thirty peo-
ple and to utilize sound equipment in the
manner provided and at the times permitted
by the Administrative Code. (Tr. 21, 23.)
The police inquired and were assured that
CJY would be peaceful. (Tr. 24.) The
police then read the so-called "Dollinger
decision" to CJY, denied a sound permit
for the Mission block, and stated that in
accordance with the numerical restrictions
set out in the Dollinger decision, CJY
would only be allowed to have twelve or
thirteen people in a makeshift "bull pen"
on the corner of the north side of East
67th Street, near Third Avenue. (Tr. 145.)
The police did issue a sound permit to CJY,
but only for use in an “overflow” area
located on East 67th Street between Lex-
ington and Park Avenues, nearly a block
away from the Soviet Mission. A map show-
ing the Mission block area is annexed
hereto (A-115).
2. The Dollinger Decision.
The "Dollinger decision" referred to
by the police is an order entered in a
civil action by the late Justice Isidore
Dollinger of the New York State Supreme
Court in 1971, some four years before CJy
was founded.3 The order preliminarily
3 Millan House Inc. et al. v. Murphy et
al., Civ. No. 10560/1971 (Sup. Ct.,
N.Y. County, July 6, 1971) (hereinafter
the "Dollinger decision").
enjoined certain groups4 from picketing in
the Mission block area, except that twelve
people who would be subject to identifica-
tion and “reasonable search" could picket
in the "immediate vicinity of the Soviet
Mission." The Dollinger decision also en-
joined the groups from, inter alia, using
amplified sound, engaging in loud chanting,
booing, shouting, stamping of feet, clap-
ping of hands, singing and sounding of
horns.
3. Enforcement of the Dollinger
Decision Against All
Demonstrators.
The district court below found that
the police made no independent determina-
4 The Jewish Defense League, Student
Struggle for Soviet Jewry, the Ukranian
National Organization of U.S., the
Ukranian Student Organization, the
Polish American Congress, the Lithua-
nian Action Committee and the Young
Americans for Freedom, their agents,
members and those acting under their
direction and control and in concert
and conjunction with them.
tion that demonstrations by other groups
should be limited to twelve demonstrators
in the Soviet Mission block or that sound
equipment could be banned. 469 F. Supp.
at 1299. (A-66). Captain Selvaggi of the
19th Precinct testified that while he was
familiar with the mandatory requirements of
the Administrative Code dealing with the
issuance of sound permits, the police
nonetheless uniformly deny such permits
for the Mission block solely because of
the Dollinger decision:
Q. Are you familiar with Section
435-6.0 of the Administrative
Code, which is the explicit sec-
tion of the Code dealing with
the issuance of sound permits?
A. Yes, we are familiar with this
section.
Q. Is it your interpretation that
this ordinance does not apply
to the block between Lexington
and Third on East 67th Street.
A. It's my interpretation that the
Dollinger decision does apply
and it prohibits using ampli-
fied sound in a block and that
is why those permits are re-
fused.
* * a
Q. Did you make any determination
whether or not CJY was listed
as a party to the Dollinger
injunction in denying them a
permit?
A. I had a list of the people who
were named in that original
Dollinger decision, and of
course CJY was not in that
list.
(Tr. 153-54.)
4. Police Failure to Make Any
Individual Assessments.
The police, moreover, neither assess
the likelihood that any particular group
seeking to demonstrate in front of the
Soviet Mission will be violent, nor take
guidance from Section 5 of the Act for
the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes
Against Internationally Protected Persons,
18 U.S.C. § 112 (1978). (Tr. 145, 151.)
That statute allows peaceful demonstrators
to march in front of a foreign government
10
mission located outside the District of
Columbia and only imposes criminal penal-
ties if a demonstrator intimidates, co-
erces, threatens or harasses a foreign
official or official guest or attempts
such conduct within one hundred feet of a
mission. Indeed, Captain Selvaggi testi-
fied that he incorrectly instructed his
men that the statute flatly prohibited all
demonstrations within one hundred feet of
a foreign mission, regardless of intent.
(Tr. 151.)
5. The Truncated June 1978 CJy
Demonstration.
On June 13, 1978, sixteen CJY men-
bers attempted to demonstrate at the Soviet
Mission. (Tr. 26.) The twenty policemen
present decreed that only twelve of the
sixteen demonstrators could enter the
block, that they would be confined to the
"bull pen," and that their sound device
had to be kept outside the block. (Tr.
1l
28.) The district court found that "[t]he
demonstration was peaceful and orderly."
469 F. Supp. at 1298. (A-62).
CJY concluded from this experience
that "the visual impression of 12 people
standing on the corner is nothing compared
to in front of the building” (Tr. 33), and
that:
It's hard with 12 people penned in
to make believe that you are actu-
ally going to have an impact and
not to feel that your voices aren't
getting anywhere but to feel that
you are just speaking to each other.
(Feo. Fee)
6. The Violence that has Occurred
at the Soviet Mission is not
Attributable to CJY.
To somehow justify their broad re-
straints, the police attempted to show
that other groups, principally the Jewish
Defense League ("JDL"), were prone to vio-
lence.
A detective testified that he had
intiltrated the JDL in 1970, prior to both
12
the Dollinger decision and the formation
of CJY (Tr. 81-83, 88), and that "we would
deliberately goad the [JDL] demonstra-
tion(s] into violence." (Tr. 84.) An
investigator added that the police had
identified the FALN, JDL and antiCastro
Cubans as groups who would attach them-
selves to "large scale demonstrations" in
Order to plant bombs. He admitted, how-
ever, that such groups would not utilize
small demonstrations for such purposes.
(Tr. 93.) On appeal, the police cited a
clandestine bombing of the Mission by
anti-Castro Cubans. The police affirmed,
however, that the Mission had been bombed
only on this one occasion and that a bomb
had never been planted during a demonstra-
tion. They further confirmed that CJY had
no part in these events. (Tr. 90, 104.)
Furthermore, the police, as shown by
their own Unusual Occurrence Reports, have
13
not hesitated to employ the standard prac-
tice of making arrests in cases of actual
Or prospective violence. Those reports
also confirmed that it is in demonstra-
tions of a larger scale than that proposed
by CJY that violence, principally involv-
ing JDL, is far more likely to occur.
The police also attempted to portray
CJY as prone to violence. The district
court, however, recognizing the futility
of the attempt, observed that "nobody has
even begun to suggest that CJY is an orga-
nization that engages in these nefarious
practices" (Tr. 106-107) and characterized
CJY as "an organization of nice young men
from Queens, whose purposes have a very
therapeutic appeal." (Tr. 113,)5
5 At the district court hearing, the
police endeavored to depict CJY as dis-
posed to violence by recounting the
arrest of a CJY member for displaying a
banner and using a bullhorn at a tennis
[Footnote continued]
14
Many people walk in front of the
Soviet Mission every day. But if they
carry a banner protesting Soviet treatment
of Jews or otherwise attempt to speak out,
they are confined to a "bull pen," limited
to twelve in number and denied the use of
sound equipment on the Mission block, re-
gardless of their intent to act peacefully,
5
[Footnote continued]
match. (Tr. 62.) No violence was as-
sociated with this incident, however,
and the charge was dropped. (Tr. 75-
76.) The police also cited a newspaper
report that a CJY member had overturned
a table manned by sympathizers of the
Palestine Liberation Organization. (Tr.
68.) Informed at the hearing that this
description of the incident was errone-
ous, the police dropped that line of
questioning. (Tr. 69.) Consequently,
there was no evidence before the dis-
trict court to establish that CJy had
been previously responsible for or was
presently prone to violence. The pre-
sumption of the majority of the Court
of Appeals, that the five members of
CJY (10%) who might be members of the
JDL or other violent groups endorse
violence, was contrary to the observa-
tions of the district court cited in
the text.
15
-%
regardless of whether they have a history
of violence and regardless of whether they
are subject to the Dollinger decision.
7. The Proceedings Below.
Judgment dismissing CJY's complaint
was entered by the district court after
CJY's motion for a preliminary injunction
was denied and the hearing held thereon
deemed to constitute the trial on the
merits. In upholding the restraints, the
district court merely employed a balancing
test, never once determining if the police
had any legislatively granted authority to
impose them or addressing the police fail-
ure to comply with the Administrative Code
in refusing to issue a sound permit for
the Mission block.
On appeal, the majority upheld the
restraints terming them “comparatively
minor." It interpreted Section 435 of the
New York City Charter to authorize re-
16
Straints on the situs of the demonstration
and on the number of demonstrators. The
majority also relied on the violence caused
by others and the speculation that violent
persons might attempt to infiltrate a CJY
demonstration in finding the restraints
proper. With respect to the ban on sound
equipment, the majority ruled that the
police need not obey, but only need con-
Sider, the Administrative Code provisions
mandating the issuance of a permit.
In dissent, Judge Mansfield noted
that the streets are traditional places
for demonstrations and that this Court has
condemned broad based restraints on street
and sidewalk picketing where the police
did not prove that a less restrictive and
more narrowly tailored restraint could not
be formulated. Since the district court
had not found that such a showing had been
made, since the record disclosed the avail-
17
ability of less restrictive alternatives,
and since administrative convenience has
no place in First Amendment analysis re-
garding demonstrations at such traditional
demonstration sites, Judge Mansfield rea-
soned that the restraints should have been
enjoined.
Judge Mansfield also noted that the
restraints at issue here impact not only
CJY, but every person who, like CJY, would
seek to demonstrate peacefully in the
Soviet Mission block including those who
would follow the President's plea to dem-
onstrate against the Russian invasion of
Afghanistan.
He further observed that the actual
source of these restraints was the Dollin-
ger decision which is not applicable to
CJY. He pointed out that 3 435 of the New
York City Charter, relied on by the major-
ity and the police as authorizing these
18
restraints, had been interpreted by the
courts of the State of New York not to au-
thorize such restraints and constitution-
ally could not be interpreted otherwise.
Judge Mansfield also found that the
absolute ban on sound equipment imposed by
the police on the Mission block clearly
violates § 435-6.0 of New York City's Ad-
ministrative Code. That section obligates
the police to issue sound permits under
specified conditions with which CJyY had
agreed to comply. Replying to the major-
ity's suggestion that the police gave
"tacit consideration" to this ordinance,
he stated the obvious: "Surely the police
must do more than give tacit consideration
to the governing law -- they must follow
it." 621 F.2d at 482. (A-53).
REASONS FOR GRANTING THE WRIT
The implications of the ruling below
and of the unsatisfactory analysis upon
19
which that holding was reached transcend
the interests of the parties litigant and
strike deeply at “the central position
of free expression in the constitutional
scheme." L. Tribe, American Constitu-
tional Law 582 (1978). Use of the streets
"for purposes of assembly, communicating
thoughts between citizens, and discussing
public questions . .. has, from ancient
times, been a part of the privileges,
immunities and liberties of citizens."
Hague v. C.1.0., 307 U.S. 496, 515 (1939).
Police violation of a statute to
Suppress the use of sound equipment on a
public sidewalk near the target of a dem-
onstration is unknown to the cases and is
to be condemned rather than upheld. The
police practice of barring all peaceful
demonstrators from demonstrating on the
sidewalk in front of their target and lim-
iting the number of demonstrators on a
20
A
city bloc to a mere few far below the
capacity of the block to accommodate them
sharply conflicts with the decisions of
this Court and of the District of Columbia
Circuit and is without constitutional
Statutory authority. |
To be sure, the right to demonstrate
may be limited through provisions to en-
force compelling governmental concerns
appropriately reflected in legislation
narrowly tailored to reflect those con-
cerns. But the restraints here enjoy no
such authorization, are flatly contrary to
the existing ordinance with respect to the
use of wound equipment, and go far beyond
what Congress, in discharging the United
States' treaty obligation to protect mis-
sions, has deemed necessary. The holding
of this case, therefore, raises the highly
disturbing notion that the First Amendment
rights of citizens of this country are of
21
’>
4
7
only passing concern whenever it can be
shown that others, clandestinely or in
much larger demonstrations than sought
here, have resorted to violence. Were
that the case, the right of assembly would
be meaningless.
Certiorari should be granted to
review this untenable result and the dis-
turbing implications it portents before
the doctrine announced below spreads fur-
ther. Already, one district court, noting
that the decision below has been "much
criticized", has, nevertheless, been com-
pelled to follow it. ISKON v. City of New
York, No. 79 Civ. 1118 (S.D.N.Y. August 25,
1980). This Court should decide if the
First Amendment is to be so cavalierly
treated.
22
I. THE DECISION BELOW, IN SUSTAINING
THE BAN ON SOUND EQUIPMENT ON THE
MISSION BLOCK, SHARPLY CONFLICTS
WITH PRIOR HOLDINGS OF THIS COURT
AND RAISES DISTURBING LIMITATIONS
ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH REQUIRING
REVIEW BY THIS COURT.
There can be no doubt, ard this
Court has ruled, that the use of amplified
sound, whether it be employed in a politi-
cal campaign or a demonstration, is a form
of speech protected under the First Amend-
ment. Kovacs v. Cooper, 336 U.S. 77 (1949);
Saia v. New York, 334 U.S. 558 (1948).
"Loudspeakers are today indispensible ele-
ments of effective public speech." Saia v.
New York, 334 U.S. at 561. Reasonable
restraints adopted by state legislatures
or city councils as to the time, place and
manner of the use of sound equipment have
been upheld, Kovacs v. Cooper, but the
issue here goes far beyond examining leg-
islation crafted to meet constitutional
concerns and yet prevent abuse.
23
This case brings to the fore the
issue of whether the police by their own
volition may construct a prior restraint
of freedom of speech which violates a duly
enacted city ordinance permitting the use
of sound equipment.
A. In Denying a Sound Equipment Permit
to CJY, the Police Violated the
Governing Ordinance.
Both the majority below and the dis-
trict court conceded that the police vio-
lated Section 435-6.0 of the Administra-
tive Code in denying sound permits to CJY.
That ordinance expressly mandates the
police to issue a permit for the use of
sound equipment at times and decibel lev-
els with which CJY has repeatedly affirmed
it will comply.
The ordinance contains no exception
for missions. Rather, it prohibits use of
sound equipment between 10:00 p.m. and
9:00 a.m., within 500 feet of a school
24
during school hours or a place of worship
during hours of worship and within 500
feet of a hospital.®& The ordinance fur-
ther prohibits such equipment only where
the Commissioner determines that vehicular
or pedestrian traffic is such, or that
conditions of overcrowding or street re-
pair exist, so that the use of sound equip-
ment will be hazardous to vehicular or
pedestrian traffic or deprive the public
of use of the street. But, as the dis-
trict court found, “the defendants have
offered no evidence that the Commissioner
made any of the determinations specified
in the Code.” 469 F. Supp. at 1303. (A-85).
6 Since the Administrative Code precludes
the use of sound equipment from 10 p.m.
to 9 a.m. the concern voiced by the
district court for late night use of
such equipment is irrelevant here. In
fact, CJY affirmed that it has no de-
sire to utilize such equipment while
people sleep. (Tr. 28.)
25
Indeed, the ban on sound equipment
sharply distorts the comprehensive anti-
noise code enacted by the City of New York.
Designed, inter alia, to prohibit certain
“unnecessary noise," including that from
sound signal devices, animals, construc-
tion activities and sound reproduction
devices, the New York City Noise Control
Code, §$ 1403.3-1.01 et seq. of the Admin-
istrative Code of the City of New York ex-
pressly exempts sound equipment employed
under the permit system established in
Section 435-6.0 discussed above. See
§ 1403.3-4.03(a). The City attested that
the mandatory permit system was to be
obeyed when, in 1979, it created ambient
noise quality zones and confirmed that
the decibel limits established did not
apply to such sound equipment. Local Laws
of the City of New York, No. 64, § 1403.3-
6.01(b) (1) (Nov. 7, 1979).
26
B. Prior Restraints on Freedom of
Speech which Violate the
Express Terms of an Ordinance
Allowing the Speech Should be
Condemned.
Police violation of a duly enacted
ordinance to impose prior restraints on
freedom of speech is an anomaly unknown to
the cases that have come before this Court.
It is through legislation duly enacted by
elected reprepresentatives that the commu-
nity establishes its balance between the
rights of demonstrators and the privacy
interests of its residents. See Niemotko
v. Maryland, 340 U.S. 268, 275-76 (1950)
(Frankfurter, J. concurring). For the
police to unilaterally disrupt that bal-
ance is unheard of and flatly violates the
precepts established by this Court in
Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104
(1972), and Kovacs v. Cooper affording
deference to narrowly drawn anti-noise or-
dinances. Not evenaA Quaker Action Group
27
v. Morton, 516 F.2d 717, 734 (D.C. Cir.
1975), the sole case cited by the majority
below on this point, sanctioned such be-
havior. There, the Department of the In-
terior had, pursuant to the Administrative
Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
(1976), adopted 36 C.F.R. § 50.19(d) (2)
(1973) which prohibited the use of sound
equipment on the sidewalk in front of the
White House, but permitted the use of such
equipment in Lafayette Park immediately
across the street. Significantly, no
statute or ordinance contradicted the reg-
ulation. The Quaker Action court, there-
fore, did not sanction police violation of
a statute or ordinance to restrain freedom
of speech.
The anomaly that this case presents
is also shown by the ban on the use of
such sound equipment even in the bull pen,
an area situated somewhat akin to Lafay-
28
ette Park in the Quaker Action case in
that it is across the street from, and in
the same block as, the front gate of the
target of the demenstration. The demon-
Strators in the Quaker Action case were
permitted to use sound equipment in Lafay-
ette Park and the Quaker Action Court
found that this afforded “adequate protec-
tion for First Amendment communication."
516 F.2d at 734. Here, however, the use
of sound equipment as authorized by the
Administrative Code is precluded by the
banning of sound equipment from the entire
Mission block.
This Court has never sanctioned such
a result even when considering restaints
on sound equipment contained in an ordi-
nance. In Kovacs v. Cooper, this Court
carefully observed that the Trenton, New
Jersey ordinance banning sound equipment
from vehicles had been limited by the New
29
7%
Jersey courts to prohibiting only "'loud
and raucous noises'" (336 U.S. at 83) and
accordingly upheld it on exactly that
ground, stating that the First Amendment
does not bar an ordinance restraining
speech in a “loud and raucous tone". 336
U.S. at 87. In Grayned v. City of Rock-
ford, 408 U.S. 104 (1972), this Court up-
held an ordinance which barred willful
noisemaking tending to disturb a school
but was limited in time to the hours the
school was in session. That limitation
was decisive in sustaining the ordinance's
validity against charges of overbreadth:
Far from having an impermissibly
broad prophylactic ordinance, Rock-
ford punishes only conduct which
disrupts or is about to disrupt nor-
mal school activities. ... Peace-
ful picketing which does not inter-
fere with the ordinary functioning
of the school is permitted.
* * *
The antinoise ordinance imposes no
such restriction on expressive ac-
tivity before or after the school
30
session, while the student/faculty
"audience" enters and leaves the
school.
408 U.S. at 119-20.7
The police practice here enjoys none
of the redeeming features relied on in
Kovacs and Grayned. Unlike the ordinances
there, the police are not placing limited
constraints on the time at which or manner
in which sound equipment may be used.
Their practice effectively bars the use of
sound equipment, at all times and at any
decibel level, to convey CJY's message to
the target of the demonstration. It is
the duly enacted Administrative Code which
embodies the type of limitations relied on
7 See also, Wisconsin Student Ass'n v.
Regents, 318 F. Supp. 591 (W.D. Wis.
1970) (enforcement of an ordinance bar-
ring all sound equipment from univer-
sity buildings preliminarily and perma-
nently enjoined). Accord, Maldonado v.
County of Monterey, 330 F. Supp. 1282
(N.D. Cal. 1971); Phillips v. Township
of Darby, Pa., 305 F. Supp. 763 (E.D.
Pa. 1969).
31
in Kovacs and Grayned -- the Code with
which CJY desires to comply and which the
police, ironically, choose to violate.
C. The Restraint on Sound Equipment
is Unsupported by Any Govern-
mental Interest Articulated by
Congress in Discharging the
United States Obligation to
Protect Foreign Missions.
This blatant violation of the Admin-
istrative Code is compounded by the fail-
ure of the police and the majority below
to point to an appropriately manifested
governmental interest which the police
policy, in the words of this Court, is
"narrowly tailored to further. ..."
Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. at
116-117. They rely on the Vienna Conven-
tion of Diplomatic Relations, 23 U.S.T.
3227 (1961) and Section 16 of the Head-
quarters Agreement between the United Na-
tions and the United States. 61 Stat. 758
(1947). But Congress, in discharging the
United States' obligations under that
32
treaty and agreement in enacting 18 U.S.C.
§ 112 (1976) ,8 omitted any ban or limita-
tion on sound equipment. Congress, the
body charged with articulating such con-
cerns, did not identify any govermental
interests which justify the ban on sound
equipment imposed here by the police.
D. The Police Policy is
Discriminatory.
Ignoring their violation of the Ad-
ministrative Code and the lack of Congres-
sional concern regarding sound equipment,
the police argue that sound equipment is
not really banned because it is permitted
at the "overflow site" located in the next
block, East 67th Street between Lexington
and Park. This answer is no answer. The
overflow site cannot be seen from the Mis-
8 Act for the Protection of Foreign Offi-
Ccials and Official Guests of the United
States, Pub. L. No. 92-539 201, 86 Stat.
107 (1972), as amended and codified in
18 U.S.C. § 112 (1976).
33
~
sion and demonstrators using sound equip-
ment at reasonable decibel levels simply
cannot be heard.
Moreover, the police policy is dis-
criminatory in two respects: First, while
other residents and missions in New York
City are protected by the decibel and time
limitations of the Administrative Code,
only the Soviets are sheltered from sound
equipment utilized in the manner autho-
rized by the Administrative Code. Second,
the use of sound equipment at the so-
called overflow site at a level which
could be heard at the Mission would deafen
the residents of the two Lexington Avenue
apartment houses situated between the Mis-
sion and the overflow area. The police
have yet to explain, and the courts below
failed to discuss, any justification for
subjecting those citizens to the burden of
demonstrations directed toward the Mission.
34
7%
E. The Reasoning of the Majority
Below is Seriously Flawed.
The majority below claimed that the
police gave "tacit consideration" to the
Administrative Code and that the restraints
imposed are necessary in highly urban New
York City. As to the first point, the
district court found to the contrary,
Stating, "the prohibition of the use of
sound equipment appear[s] to have been
derived solely from the 1971 State court
injunction." As to the majority's second
point, the New York Court of Appeals has
held that a nearly identical sound equip-
ment ordinance to Section 435-6.0 of the
Administrative Code enacted by the City of
Buffalo, while sufficiently specific, was
unconstitutional on its face for the rea-
son, inter alia, that it required a five
day waiting period. People v. Taub, 37
N.¥.2d 530 (1975).
35
The majority decision thus gives the
New York police sole authority to impose
stricter restraints on the Mission block
than New York City intended and than the
New York Court of Appeals has found appro-
priate for a similar New York urban envi-
romment.
Certiorari should be granted to
review the highly disturbing holding below
concerning the absolute ban of sound equip-
ment on the Mission block. Freedom of
speech should not be unilaterally re-
strained in violation of a city ordinance
without this Court's full consideration.
II. THE DECISION BELOW, IN SUSTAINING
THE BAN ON DEMONSTRATIONS IN FRONT
OF THE MISSION AND THE LIMITATION
OF THE NUMBER OF DEMONSTRATORS TO
TWELVE, FURTHERS CONFLICTS WITH
PRIOR HOLDINGS OF THIS COURT AND
SANCTIONS VIOLATIONS OF CJY'S
FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Similarly contrary to this court's
prior holdings is the ruling of the major-
36
ity below sanctioning the police ban on
demonstrations on the sidewalk in front of
the Mission and the limitation of twelve
demonstrators on the entire Mission block.
What the majority has done here is to se-
riously abridge the favored place that the
First Amendment right to demonstrate has
traditionally enjoyed.
This Court has repeatedly affirmed
that the starting place in a First Amend-
ment analysis is recognition that munici-
pal regulation of First amendment rights,
regardless of whether it be "content neu-
tral," must be narrowly tailored to limit
the time, manner and place of the exercise
of such rights to the minimal degree nec-
essary to protect compelling governmental
interests. See, e.g., Grayned v. City of
Rockford, 408 U.S. 104 (1972); Police De-
partment of the City of Chicago v. Mosley,
408 U.S. 92 (1972); Gregory v. Chicago,
37
394 U.S. lll (1969); Adderley v. Florida,
385 U.S. 39 (1966); Cox v. Louisiana, 379
U.S. 536 (1965); Edwards v. South Carolina,
372 U.S. 229 (1963); Kunz v. New York, 340
U.S. 290 (1951); Kovacs v. Cooper, 336 U.S.
77 (1949); Saia v. New York, 334 U.S. 558
(1948).
Those who would regulate the exer-
cise of first amendment freedoms thus
shoulder a weighty burden of justification.
E.g-, Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15, 21
(1971). And in cases such as this which
involve a prior restraint on expression,
see Kunz v. New York, 340 U.S. 290, 293
(1951); Saia v. New York, 334 U.S. 558,
559 (1948), the proponent of the restraint
must overcome a “heavy presumption" of
invalidity. Organization for a Better
Austin v. Keefe, 402 U.S. 415, 419 (1971);
Carroll v. President and Comm'rs of Prin-
cess Anne, 393 U.S. 175, 181 (1968);
38
Alderman v. Philadelphia Housing Authority,
496 F.2d 164, 168-69 (3d Cir. 1974) cert.
denied, 419 U.S. 844 (1974). As this
Court has ruled,
In every case, therefore, where
legislative abridgment of the rights
[of freedom of speech] is asserted,
the courts should be astute to exam-
ine the effect of the challenged
legislation. Mere legislative pref-
erences or beliefs respecting mat-
ters of public convenience may well
support regulation rected at other
ersonal activities ut be insuffi-
cient to justify such as diminishes
the exercise of rights so vital to
the maintenance of democratic i
nsti-
tutions.
Schneider v. State of New Jersey, 308 U.S.
147, 150-51 (1939) (footnote omitted;
emphasis added). See also, Women Strike
For Peace v. Morton, 472 F.2d 1273, 1282-
83 (D.C. Cir. 1972).
These precepts, wholly ignored by
the majority below, are especially signif-
icant in cases involving demonstrations in
a public forum such as a street or side-
walk. Hague v. C.I.0., supra. Justice
39
Blackmun, writing for this Court in Lehman
v. City of Shaker Heights, 418 U.S. 298
(1974), made exactly this point in distin-
guishing streetcars from streets and side-
walks. He wrote that “[t]hese situations
are different from the traditional sett-
ings where First Amendment values inalter-
ably prevail," and that in that case “we
have no open spaces, no meeting hall, park,
street corner, or other public thorough-
fare." 418 U.S. at 302, 303. Accordingly
the "reasonable legislative objectives ad-
vanced by the city in a proprietary capac-
ity" were held to prevail. 418 U.S. at
304.
Thus, in cases involving a public
forum, this Court has ruled that "[o]ne is
not to have the exercise of his liberty of
expression in appropriate places abridged
on the plea that it may be exercised in
some other place.” Southeastern Promo-
40
tions, Ltd. v. Conrad, 420 U.S. 546, 556
(1975), quoting from Schneider v. State,
308 U.S. 147, 163 (1939). And in Virginia
State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citi-
zens Consumer Council, Inc., 425 U.S. 748,
757, n.15 (1976), this Court reaffirmed
that "[w]e are aware of no general princi-
ple that freedom of speech may be abridged
when the speaker's listeners could come by
his message by some other means, such as
seeking him out and asking him what it is."
In the public forum cases, this
Court has repeatedly held, therefore, that
freedom of speech can only be restrained
in the least restrictive manner necessary
to accommodate a compelling public purpose.
See e.g., Grayned v. City of Rockford;
Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S. 479 (1960);
and cases cited supra. As Professor Tribe
has distilled this line of authority:
» « « [W]henever it can be demon-
strated that the result of the gov-
41
*%
ernment's rule or policy is to limit
in some significant degree the ease
or effectiveness with which a speak-
er can reach a specific audience
with a particular message, the gov-
ernment should lose the case unless
it can establish that an important
public objective unrelated to the
message would be sacrificed by any
less restrictive alternative.
Tribe, supra at 686.
A. Blanket Removal of Peaceful
Demonstrators From the
Target Significantly
Diminishes Speech.
These long established rules assume
particular relevance in attempts to bar
all peaceful demonstrators from the public
Streets and sidewalk in front of and adja-
cent to the target of the demonstration.
It is the target that the demonstration is
directed toward and it is the target that
provides the public focus for the demon-
stration. Labor union picketing, for ex-
ample, conveys less of a message and less
of a focus when removed from the plant
where the grievance lies. The courts have
42
-
thus consistently recognized the devastat-
ing impact on removing all demonstrators
from the street next to the target. See
e.g., Grayned v. City of Rockford, supra
(peaceful demonstrations permitted di-
rectly in front of a school during school
hours); A Quaker Action Group v. Morton,
516 F.2d 717 (D.C. Cir. 1975) (demonstra-
tions on sidewalks directly in front of
the White House and executive office build-
ings); Greenberg v. Murphy, 329 F. Supp.
37 (S.D.N.Y. 1971) (demonstrators permit-
ted to picket at the side entrance to the
United States Mission to the United Na-
tions and small groups permitted to ap-
proach the front entrance to present peti-
tions).
Perhaps the need to demonstrate in
close proximity to the target was never
more eloquently put than by the demonstra-
tor in Police Department of the City of
43
Chicago v. Mosley, 408 U.S. 92 (1972), in
his testimony quoted by this Court in
upholding his right to demonstrate:
when I was across the street from
the school, 150 feet away, you can-
not hardly see me. The question
that all of the people asked me was,
"Where is the school located?" They
don't even see the school across the
street, you know. So, what it does,
it takes away a certain amount of
the effectiveness .... [WJhen I
am across the street, I am sort of
out of the picture... .
408 U.S. at 93, n.l.
In like manner, the record in this
case clearly shows that by limiting CJY to
twelve demonstrators and by placing them
across the street and down the block, some
120 feet away, the police have quite ef-
fectively removed them from the "picture."
As CJY's co-chairmen stated:
If we have 12 people on the corners
and the 12 of us were shouting and
we felt really pitiful and we felt
our voices weren't getting us any-
where, if you have people in front
of the mission, even the 12, which
I personally think is much too small
a number to do anything effectively,
44
but even 12 people in front of the
mission would be heard by the people
inside.
(Tr. 32-22.)
B. Permitting only Twelve Demon-
strators on a City Block
Diminishes Speech.
Similarly, constricting the number
of demonstrators to a mere handful, ina
city block that could obviously accomodate
more, severely impacts the message the
demonstrators attempt to convey. It gives
the inaccurate impression that their views
are shared by only a few and stifles their
desire to demonstrate again. CJY found
that to be the case here:
the 11 people with me [in the bull-
pen] were not very much inclined to
think that the rally was a success
and want to do it again. They were
kind of embarrassed.
(Tr. 35.) The impact of the police re-
strictions as articulated here by CJy
accords with the general finding of the
court in A Quaker Action Group v. Morton,
362 F. Supp. 1161 (D.D.C. 1973), aff'd,
516 F.2d 717 (D.C. Cir. 1975):
Large demonstrations play an “impor-
tant role" in the exercise of First
Amendment rights. A large demon-
stration is likely to be a more ef-
fective communication device than is
a small demonstraion. The size of a
demonstration bears a relationship
to the communication of the content
of the message. The larger the dem-
onstration, the greater the likely
coverage and exposure by the news
media.
362 F. Supp. at 1167.
Accordingly, numerical limitations
on peaceful demonstrations have been rare-
ly imposed. Only in the Quaker Action
cases (A Quaker Action Group v. Morton,
supra; A Quaker Action Group v. Hickel,
421 F.2d 1lll (D.C. Cir. 1969)) have we
found express consideration of a numerical
limitation, and there the Court enjoined
enforcement of a regulation limiting the
number of demonstrators on the sidewalk in
front of the White House to 100 people and
to 300 in Lafayette Park. The Court of
46
Appeals, upholding the preliminary injunc-
tion, ruled that 750 and 3,000 demonstra-
tors could be accommodated i those re-
spective areas, noting "the fact that
plaintiffs wish to demonstrate in areas
open to the public argues for their cause."
421 F.2d at 1116.
While this Court has not directly
addressed a numerical limitation, it has
repeatedly ruled that restraints on demon-
Strations are to be measured by the char-
acter of the site. E.g., Cox v. Louisiana,
379 U.S. 536 (1965). Such a formulation
necessarily calls for assessment of the
site's ability to accommodate demonstra-
tors and to permit the number reached
through that assessment to demonstrate in
Order to prevent the impact on speech and
the inaccurate impression of lack of sup-
port for the cause noted above.
47
There can be no do doubt that more
than twelve demonstrators can fit in the
Mission block and, indeed, that the four
additional CJY members who desired to dem-
onstrate on June 13, 1978 could have been
accommodated. In fact, the district court
found that the police made no independent
evaluation of the proper number, stating
that "[t)he limitation of the number of
demonstrators on the block to twelve...
appear[s] to have been derived solely from
the 1971 state court preliminary injunc-
tion." 469 F. Supp. at 1299. (A-66).
Yet the majority below accepted the police
failure to make an evaluation and the
district court's failure to canvass less
restrictive alternatives.
C. Congress Avoided These Restraints
in Satisfying the United States
Obligation to Protect Missions.
Congress, moreover, sought no such
result even when it amended 18 U.S.C.
48
3 112 in 1972, after the Dollinger deci-
sion and many of the violent incidents
caused by others and referred to in the
Unusual Occurrence Reports. As the legis-
lative history explicitly states, the
amendments were designed to “permit a di-
rect discharge by the United States of its
international obligations as a host coun-
a ee aS
Significant for purposes of this
case is that Congress found it necessary
to prohibit only those demonstrations
within one hundred feet of a foreign mis-
sion which were mounted with the specific
intent to coerce, harass or obstruct a
foreign official.19 Section 112 does not
9 S. Rep. No. 92-1105, 92d Cong., 2d
Sess., 1972 U.S. Code Cong. & Admin.
News 4316, 4317.
10 The legislative history to the Act for
the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes
Against Internationally Protected Per-
[Footnote continued]
49
e%
limit demonstrations organized for the
legitimate purpose of exercising free ex-
pression. To the contrary, subsection (d)
of § 112 states that:
Nothing contained in this section
shall be construed or applied so as
to abridge the exercise of rights
guaranteed under the first amendment
to the Constitution of the United
States.
The 1972 Senate Report confirmed that
3 112(d):
+ « »« was added by the committee to
express its deep concern to those
judicial and executive officials to
whom the administration has been en-
10 [Footnote continued]
sons, Pub. L. No. 94-467 5, 90 Stat.
1997 (1976), which extended the protec-
tions of § 112 to certain quasi-offi-
cial foreign guests, expressly notes
that the term “willfully,” as used in
§ 112, means “voluntarily and inten-
tionally, and with specific intent to
do something the law forbids. . .
H.R. Rep. No. 94-1614, 94th Cong., "24
Sess. 6 n.10, 1976 U. S. Code Cong. &
Admin. News 4480, 4484; S. Rep. No.
94-1273, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. 8 n.10
(1976).
50
trusted to use all due care to see
that legitimate expression and as-
sembly has not been abridged. First
amendment rights play an important
role in a Free Society and care
should always be exercised to see
that their role is not diminished.11
A similar concern was voiced in the 1976
Senate and House Reports on the amend-
ments ,12
To rebut the plain statutory lan-
guage permitting peaceful demonstrations
within 100 feet of any mission, and the
evident Congressional concern for preserv-
ing First Amendment rights, the majority
below sought to advance Congressional sup-
port for these prior restraints by stating
that the statute:
11 §. Rep No. 92-1105, 92d Cong., 2d Sess.,
1972 U.S. Code Cong. & Admin. News 4316,
4328.
12 See H.R. Rep. No. 94-1614, 94th Cong.,
2d Sess. 6 n.9, 1976 U.S. Code Cong. &
Admin. News 4480, 4484; S. Rep. No. 94-
1273, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. 8 n.9 (1976).
51
specifically left open the situation
where local authorities might use
Stricter controls. See Pub. L. 92-
539, 86 Stat. 1070, 1073, § 3 (1972);
Pub. L. 94-467, 90 Stat. 1997, 2001,
§ 10 (1976).
621 F.2d at 475. (A-16).
This reading of the statute enjoys
no support from its language. The perti-
nent sections state: "[L]aw enforcement
powers [may] take appropriate action, such
as effecting arrests, for Federal as well
as non-Federal violations" (Pub. L. 94-467,
§ 10), and the section shall not"...
relieve any person of any obligation im-
posed by any law of any State. ..."
(Pub, L. 92-539, § 3.) The statute thus
merely provides that duly enacted state
laws are not pre-empted and that appropri-
ate police action after an offense has
occurred is still permitted. The statute
gives not a hint that Congress believed
that prior restraints were necessary to
protect foreign missions.
52
D. The Restraints are Overbroad.
Even in the absence of the guidance
provided by 18 U.S.C. § 112 as to the type
of protection appropriate for foreign mis-
sions, the police practice of keeping all
demonstrations away from the Mission clear-
ly is not narrowly tailored to safeguard
the security and proper functioning of the
Mission.
Specifically, were the CJY members
who sought to demonstrate on June 13, 1978
permitted to appear in front of the Soviet
Mission, the twenty policemen present
could have stationed themselves between
the demonstrators and the Mission. Were a
bull pen required, one could have been
established in front of the Mission, ar-
ranged near the curb so that there would
be space for police and pedestrians be-
tween the bull pen and the eight foot iron
fence girding the Mission. The police
53
also could have stationed themselves along
the fence. Alternatively, as shown by
the map of the Mission area (A-115),
demonstrators could have been positioned
on the portion of the sidewalk commencing
a few feet west of the gate and running
approximately sixty feet in the direction
of Lexington Avenue, leaving the eastern
portion of the sidewalk to afford com-
pletely unobstructed passage to and from
the Mission; other demonstrators could
have been positioned on open sidewalk
across the street. The presence of the
police along the perimeters of the demon-
stration as well as the presence of the
police station house across the street
would have assured security and given a
visible warning that violence or harass-
ment would not be tolerated -- an assur-
ance and warning that could have been
effectuated by the quick arrest of any
violent demonstrator. No consideration
was given to these clearly less restric-
tive alternatives which would have allowed
CJY to exercise its First Amendment rights.
E. The Right to Demonstrate is to be
Judged on an Individual Basis and
Not on the Basis of Conduct by
Others.
The decision of the majority below
also announces the anomalous holding that
the potential that some groups may engage
in violence justifies restraints on the
world at large. This Court, however, has
unreservedly held to the contrary.
In Police Dept. of the City of Chi-
cago v. Mosley, 408 U.S. 92 (1972), this
Court addressed an ordinance prohibiting
all non-labor union picketing at certain
sites on the basis that violence often
occurred. In holding the ordinance inval-
id, this Court ruled:
Predictions about imminent disrup-
tion from picketing involve judg-
ments appropriately made on an indi-
55
vidualized basis, not by means of
broad classifications, especially
those based on subject matter.
408 U.S. at 100-101.
To be sure, the police cannot be
asked to discount the possibility that an
apparently peaceful group willing to com-
ply with reasonable regulations might be
goaded into action by an outsider, or be
used as innocent cover for an individual
act of violence, or even dissembling as to
the peacefulness of its designs. However,
"[i]n our system, undifferentiated fear or
apprehension of disturbance is not enough
to overcome the right to freedom of ex-
pression." Tinker v. Des Moines School
District, 393 U.S. 503, 508 (1969). The
precautionary measures to be taken, par-
ticularly with respect to the small demon-
strations sought by CJY, appropriately
involve the preparation and deployment of
sufficient police officers to enforce the
56
law through arrest and indictment, if nec-
essary, rather than across-the-board limi-
tations that ~tifle small peaceful demon-
strations.
F. Section 435 of the New York City
Charter Does Not and Constitu-
tionally Cannot Authorize the
Restraints.
The police restraints further vio-
late the First Amendment in that they
either are unauthorized by legislation or
have been adopted pursuant to a vague
ordinance containing no standards govern-
ing police actions.
The majority below found authority
for the restraints in Section 435 of the
New York City Charter. But as this Court
has held again and again, “the starting
point in every case involving construction
of a statute is the language itself."
Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington, 442 U.S.
560, 570 (1979); Santa Fe Industries Inc.
v. Green, 430 U.S. 462, 472 (1977); Ernst
57
& Ernst v. Hochfelder, 425 U.S. 185, 197
(1976); accord, United States v. Oregon,
366 U.S. 643, 648 (1961); Packard Motor
Car Co. v. NLRB, 330 U.S. 485, 492 (1947).
Here the relevant statutory language
is plain; it gives the police power only
to "preserve the public peace [and] dis-
perse unlawful or dangerous assemblages
and assemblages which obstruct the free
passage of public streets, sidewalks,
parks and places. ..." The ordinance
gives the police no express authority to
impose any prior restraint and, indeed the
language employed denies any such author-
ity. It speaks, not in terms of prevent-
ing acts in the future but of dispersing
those assemblages found to be unlawful,
dangerous or obstructive. Thus, the New
York courts have found that Section 435
did not grant authority to restrain demon-
strations in the Mission block. People v.
58
Solomonow, 56 Misc. 2d 1050, 291 N.Y.S. 24d
145, 150 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 1968).
In addition, pursuant to its opera-
tive terms, Section 435 has no application
to this case involving peaceful demonstra-
tions by a limited number of people. The
"dangerous" assemblage and blocking of
traffic premised by the ordinance have not
been found to be present here.
Furthermore, if the majority's hold-
ing that Section 435 vests the police with
power to construct the restraints at issue
was correct, then Section 435 violates
this Court's admonition that statutes
which purport to regulate freedom of speech
must be “precise and narrowly drawn" and
contain standards to guide the police in
enforcing its terms consistent with the
exercise of First Amendment rights. Ed-
wards v. South Carolina, 372 U.S. 229, 236
(1963); accord, Shuttlesworth v. Birming-
59
ham, 394 U.S. 147, 150-51 (1969); Niemotko
v. Maryland, 340 U.S. 268, 272 (1951). If
Section 435 is intended to serve as the
legislative basis upon which serious cur-
tailment of First Amendment rights may be
made, then it is a clearly overbroad and
vague grant of undefined power leaving the
police with unchecked discretion to do
what they will.
The blanket removal of all demon-
Strators from the sidewalk in front of and
adjacent to the Mission and the limitation
on the number of demonstrators in the Mis-
sion block restrain speech, are far in
excess of what Congress deemed necessary
under its treaty obligations, are over-
broad and are accomplished through an
ordinance that either does not authorize
them or is constitutionally infirm. Cer-
tiorari should be granted to consider
these overbroad restraints and to deter-
60
mine whether the case should have been
remanded to the district court with in-
structions to permit a reasonable number
of demonstrators to demonstrate in front
of or adjacent to the Mission.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, and those
set forth in the dissent below, it is re-
spectfully submitted that the Petition for
Certiorari should be granted.
Respectfully submitted,
Sf
HOWARD C. BUSCHMAN III
Attorney for Petitioner
153 East 53rd Street
New York, New York 10022
(212) 935-8000
Of Counsel
John M. McEnany
Jeanne M. Luboja
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
The invaluable assistance provided in
preparation of this petition for writ of
certiorari by Mr. Lee H. Greene, J.D.,
School of Law (Boalt Hall) of the Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley is grate-
fully acknowledged.
61
A-1l
Appendix A
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
No. 228 September Term 1979
Argued December 7, 1979
Decided March 27, 1980
Docket No. 79-7456
CONCERNED JEWISH YOUTH, :
Plaintiff-Appellant, :
~against- $
ROBERT J. MCGUIRE, in his :
official capacity as Police
Commissioner of the City of :
New York, EDWARD KOCH, in
his official capacity as the :
Mayor of the City of New York,
and the NEW YORK CITY POLICE
DEPARTMENT,
Defendants~-Appellees.
BEFORE: WATERMAN, MOORE and MANSFIELD,
Circuit Judges.
Appellant Concerned Jewish Youth
sought a preliminary injunction and a
A-2
final order barring the New York City
Police from enforcing restrictions on its
demonstrations, because the restrictions
infringed on the demonstrators' First and
Fourteenth Amendment rights. The United
States District Court for the Southern
District of New York (Honorable Milton
Pollack, Judge), denied the motion for the
preliminary injunction and dismissed the
complaint, finding that the restrictions
on the number and location of demonstra-
tors, and on the use of a sound device,
were necessary to further a significant
governmental interest.
We affirm.
HOWARD C. BUSCHMANN III, Esq.
New York, New York
(Willkie Parr & Gallagher,
John M. McEnany, Jeanne M.
Luboja, of counsel), for
Plaintiff Appellant.
A-3
PAMELA MCGOVERN GASKINS, Esq.
New York, New York
(Allen G. Schwartz, Corporation
Counsel of the City of New
York, L. Kevin Sheridan, of
counsel) for Defendants-Appellees.
ROBERT B. FISKE, JR., United
States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, Katherine
J. Trager, Jane E. Bloom,
Michael H. Dolinger, Assistant
United States Attorneys, of
counsel, on Amicus Curiae Brief
for the United States of America.
MOORE, Circuit Judge:
This appeal raises interesting ques-
tions of the extent to which the First
Amendment rights of demonstrators ray be
subjugated to an overriding governmental
interest. Appellant Concerned Jewish
Youth ("CJ¥") sought declaration under 42
U.S.C. § 1983 (1976) that restrictions
applied to its demonstrations in front of
the Russian Mission in New York City vio-
lated the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
CJY also sought an order preliminarily
enjoining the New York City police from
y+
A-4
restricting CJY's demonstrations. CJY now
appeals from a judgment denying the motion
for a preliminary injunction and dismiss-
ing the complaint (Honorable Milton
Pollack, District Judge, Southern District
of New York). Because no new evidence was
to be adduced at trial, the District Court
consolidated the hearing on the motion
with the action on the merits and issued
one decision disposing of both matters re-
ported at 469 F. Supp. 1296.
CJY is a membership association
founded in 1975 and headquartered at Queens
College in Flushing, New York. The pur-
poses of CJY are mainly to combat Anti-
Semitism, to preserve and strengthen Judaic
Heritage, and to work for the causes of
Soviet and Arab Jewry. The group has main-
tained its independence from what CJY has
characterized as other violence-oriented
Jewish groups such as the Jewish Defense
A-5
League (JDL). (Tr. 6, 16, 74). Of the
approximately 300 members of CJY, there
are 50 to 70 active members. (Tr. 15).
However, as one of the co-chairman of CJY
testified, about 10% of these active mem-
bers are also members of JDL or other ac-
tivist groups and presumably endorse the
more militant methods those groups employ.
(Ses) Soe Be).
The members of CJY sought to protest
on the sidewalk in front of the Russian
Mission to publicize and condemn the So-
viet Union's treatment of Jews. The Rus-
Sian Mission is on East 67th Street be-
tween Lexington and Third Avenues in the
19th police precinct in the City of New
York. A co-chairman of CJY went to the
19th precinct in June, 1978 to apply for a
permit to use sound equipment in front of
the Mission. The Captain in charge, Mario
Selvaggi, informed CJY that only twelve
A-6
persons would be allowed to demonstrate in
a "bull pen" diagonally across the street
from the Mission.1 Any additional demon-
Strators could protest on East 67th Street
between Park and Lexington Avenues. (Tr.
23, 143). In addition, Captain Selvaggi
informed CJY that no sound device would be
allowed on East 67th Street between Third
and Lexington Avenues (i.e., on the Mis-
sion block). Sound devices would only be
permitted on the northeast corner of East
67th Street and Lexington Avenue. (Tr.
25, 44). The Captain referred to the
"Dollinger" decision, which outlined vari-
ous restrictions which would be put on
demonstrations by certain groups in front
1. This bull pen was approximately 118'
east of the front entrance of the Mis-
sion on the north side of East 67th
Street (the Mission is on the south
side). It was in front of an apartment
building at a point on the block where
the sidewalk is the widest. (Tr. 129).
A-7
of the Mission.2 Although CJY was not a
party to that action, Captain Selvaggi ap-
plied the rational behind the Dollinger
restrictions to CJY.
CJY held a demonstration at the Rus-
sian Mission in June, 1978. In accordance
with Captain Selvaggi's instructions to
CJY, only twelve persons were allowed in-
side the "bull pen", and they were not
permitted to have a sound device. A few
other demonstrators stayed off the Mission
block, as they had been instructed to do.
Another demonstration planned for January
5, 1979 was not held because CJY felt that
the demonstration, like the previous one,
would be "ineffective and unsuccessful".
(Appellant's Br. 15).
2. Millan House Inc. v. Murphy, Civ. No.
10560 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County 1971).
Dollinger was a suit brought by resi-
dents of the area against, among oth-
ers, the New York Police and the JDL.
A-8
CJY makes various First Amendment
claims that will be bifurcated ur the
purpose of discussion. The first claim is
that the restrictions on the location and
number of demonstrators violate their
rights under the First Amendment. The
second is that the restrictions on the use
of a sound device impair their freedom of
speech. We find that the time, place and
manner restrictions in this case are nec-
essary to further a strong governmental
interest, and affirm the holding of the
Discrict Court.
I.
The right to a public forum for the
discussion and interplay of ideas is one
of the foundations of our democracy.
"Wherever the title of streets and parks
may rest, they have immemorially been held
in trust for the use of the public and,
time out of mind, have been used for pur-
A-9
poses of assembly, communicating thoughts
between citizens, and discussing public
questions." Hague v. CIO, 307 U.S. 396,
915, 59 S.Ct. 954, 964, 83 L.Ed. 1423
(1939).
However, the right to speak, assemble,
and discuss is not absolute. Although the
"government has no power to restrict such
activity because of its message", Grayned
v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 115, 92
S.Ct. 2294, 2303, 33 L.Ed. 2d 222 (1972)
(footnote omitted), it is "equally clear
+ « - that reasonable 'time, place and
manner' regulations may be necessary to
further significant governmental interests,
and are permitted". Id. (footnote omit-
ted). The Supreme Court recently stated
"We have often approved restrictions [on
time, place and manner] provided that they
are justified without reference to the
content of the regulated speech, that they
A-10
serve a significant governmental interest,
and that in so doing they leave open ample
alternative channels for communication of
the informe:ion". Virginia Pharmacy Board
v. Virginia Consumer Council, 425 U.S. 748,
771, 96 S.Ct. 1817, 1830, 48 L.Ed. 2d 346
(1976). The balancing process which is
required in these situations was best de-
scribed by Justice Blackmun: . "Although
American constitutional jurisprudence, in
the light of the First Amendment, has been
jealous to preserve access to public places
for purposes of free speech, the nature of
the forum and the conflicting interests
involved have remained important in deter-
mining the degree of protection afforded
by the Amendment to the speech in ques-
tion". Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights,
418 U.S. 298, 302-303, 94 S.Ct. 2714, 2717,
41 L.Ed. 2d 770 (1974) (citations omitted).
rn
A-1ll
Thus, once the restrictions are found
to be content-neutral, and it is deter-
mined that alternative avenues of communi-
cation are available, the question becomes
one of balancing, based on the nature of
the forum, the governmental interest in
enforcing the restrictions against the in-
hibitions the restrictions impose on the
speech-related activity. See, e.g., L.
Tribe, American Constitutional Law, 682-84
(1978). We are convinced that these con-
tested restrictions are not directed at
the content of the speech. No one has
suggested, nor has any evidence been prof-
fered, that there is or has been any at-
tempt to suppress the expression of CJY's
ideas merely because of what its members
are saying.
There are easily accessible alterna-
tive channels for communication of CJY's
ideas. These alternatives include the
7’.
A-12
twelve persons in the "bull pen" and the
open access to the overflow areas on Lex-
ington Avenue and further west on 67th
Street. We do not think that the First
Amendment guarantees news publicity for
-%
speakers, nor does it guarantee the con-
tinued fervor of one's fellow demonstra-
tors.3
The question then comes down to one
of balancing the interests involved. We
appreciate that the rights granted by the
First Amendment are important, but hold
that the governmental interest in the pro-
3. At trial, a co-chairman of CJY stated
that CJY's right to convey its point of
view even in the bull pen and surround-
ing areas was precluded because "I
would assume that the press would not
be very interested in covering 12 peo-
ple in a bull pen" (Tr. 35), and that
"the 11 people with me, were not very
much inclined to think that the rally
was a success and want to do it again.
They were kind of embarrassed. I would
have trouble getting those particular
people to come back". (Tr. 35-36).
7%
A-13
tection of the Russian Mission and the
residents of the area outweighs the com-
paratively minor restrictions placed on
CJY.
The government interest in providing
security, safety and silence may, at times,
be superior to asserted First Amendments
rights. A statute, ordinance or regula-
tion which embodies these interests will
be valid even though it infringes on pur-
ported constitutional guarantees. Thus,
the governent rights associated with jails
(all demonstrations, Adderley v. Florida,
385 U.S. 39, 48, 87 S.Ct. 242, 247, 17
L.Ed. 2d 149 (1966)); schools (loud beha-
vior may be excluded, Grayned v. City of
Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 121, 92 S.Ct. 2294,
2306, 33 L.Ed. 2d 222 (1972)); courthouses
(statute prohibiting picketing valid on
its face, Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 559,
564, 85 S.Ct. 476, 480, 13 L.Ed. 2d 487
A-14
(1965)); and military installations (po-
litical campaign appearances may be banned,
Greer v. Spock, 424 U.S. 828, 838, 96 S.Ct.
1217, 47 L.Ed. 2d 505 (1976)).
The United States and the New York
p City Police have a substantial interest in
protecting foreign officials and their
property. The New York City Police, pur-
suant to their mandate in §435 of the New
York City Charter, must "preserve the pub-
lic peace, . .. [disperse] assemblages
which obstruct the free passage of public
streets, sidewalks, parks and places;
[and] protect the rights of persons and
7 property. .. ” This includes the mem-
bers and proeprty of a Foreign Mission.
The United States is charged by vari-
ous international obligations to protect
diplomatic personnel and has recognized
its obligation statutorily. See, e.g.,
Article 22(2) of the 1961 Vienna Conven-
A-15
tion on Diplomatic Relations, 23 U.S.T.
3227, 3237, TIAS No. 7502 (protection of
missions); Section 16 of the Headquarters
Agreement between the United Nations and
the United States (61 Stat. 758, 763)
(Headquarters of member states to be pro-
tected from disturbance); and 18 U.S.C.
§ 112 (1976) (providing for severe crimi-
nal penalties for harassment or assault of
foreign officials).
We do not think that the federal stat-
ute (18 U.S.C. § 112) was designed to take
all power to control demonstrations at
Foreign Missions away from local authori-
ties as CJY argues. The relevant provi-
sion was enacted "to protect the peace,
dignity and security of foreign officials
and guests in their embassies, consulates,
missions, residences and offices". Sen.
Rep. No. 92-1105, 92d Cong., 2d Sess. re-
printed in U.S. Code Cong. & Admin. News
-%
J
A-16
4316, 4328 (1972). Any actions local au-
thorities may take to aid in protecting
foreign officials furthers this intent of
Congress in enacting the legislation. The
law did not set maximum standards of pro-
tection, but rather set minimum standards,
and specifically left open the situation
where local authorities might use stricter
controls. See Pub. L. 92-539, 86 Stat.
1070, 1073, § 3 (1972); Pub. L. 94-467, 90
Stat. 1997, 2001, § 10 (1976).
When the New York City Police insti-
tuted these restrictions on demonstrations
in front of the Mission, they were simply
protecting the Mission and its personnel.
There have been numerous instances of vio-
lence at the Russian Mission. In 1971 and
1976 shots were fired at and into the Mis-
Sion. In 1975, containers of red paint
were thrown at the Mission splattering
paint on walls and doors. Finally, in
A-17
1977 and 1978 there were problems with un-
ruly demonstrators in front of the Mission.
(Br. of U.S. at 2-3). More recently, the
Russian Mission was bombed for the first
time.4
The Police implemented the restric-
tions because of this violence and because
they were aware that even a peaceful dem-
onstration could be infiltrated by members
of a violent group. (Tr. 85-86). One Co~
chairman of CJY admitted that through de-
ceit or inadequate screening by CJy, vio-
lent demonstrators could be among their
ranks at a protest. (Tr. 54-56). Finally,
one police officer testified that even
peaceful demonstrators walking immediately
adjacent to the Mission could become
4. On Tuesday evening December 11, 1979,
the Russian Mission was bombed by a
terrorist group. Four policemen and
four employees of the Mission were in-
jured in the bombing. N.Y. Times, Dec.
12, 1979, 3 A, Pp. 21, cols. 1-6.
-%>
A-18
stirred to violence, due to the emotional
reaction to seeing the Russian Mission.
(Tr. 132). Because of the potential vio-
lence which might result when persons dem-
onstrate in front of the Mission, the re-
strictions were properly imposed.
Testimony at trial established that
the only reasonable place for the 12 dem-
onstrators would be in the bull pen. (Tr.
127-30). There they can be seen from the
Mission, but do not interfere with Mission
personnel or property, and do not inter-
fere with the synagogue, police station,
schoolhouse, and firehouse across the
street from the Mission. These restric-
tions are no greater than required to
maintain the governmental interest in-
volved in this case. Therefore, we agree
with and affirm Judge Pollack's holding:
"There is substantial empirical
evidence that to allow expanded
demonstrations in front of the
Soviet Mission would unduly and
A-19
unnecessarily impair this inter-
est [in protecting the Soviet
Mission]. The area presently
designated for picketing was se-
lected for reasons which make
sound sense under the special
conditions existing on the block;
the requirement that after dark,
demonstrators are asked to re-
duce the noise level is entirely
reasonable; the object of the
police to accommodate both the
demonstrators' right of assembly
and the rights of nondemonstra-
tors to peaceful and unobstruct-
ed passage consistent with safe-
ty meets fundamental concerns
fairly. Basically the whole
subject matter is one of degree
and judgment and no better yard-
sticks than the ones employed
are presented or apparent." 469
F. Supp. 1296 at 1303.
The restrictions are in line with Justice
Marshall's declaration that "The nature of
a place, ‘the pattern of its normal activ-
ities, dictate the kinds of regulations of
time, place, and manner that are reason-
able.'" Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408
U.S. at 116 92 S. Ct. at 2303 (footnote
omitted).
A-20
Finally, the privacy interests of the
residents of the block must be briefly
considered. "(T]he homes of men, some-
times the last citadel of the tired, the
weary and the sick, can be protected by
government from noisy, marching, tramping,
threatening picketers and demonstrators.
+ « «" Gregory v. Chicago, 394 U.S. 111,
125-26, 89 S.Ct. 946, 954, 22 L.Ed. 2d 134
(1969) (Black, J. concurring opinion).
See also, Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15,
21, 91 S.Ct. 1780, 1786, 29 L.Ed. 2d 284
(1971); Kovacs v. Cooper, 336 U.S. 77, 89,
69 S.Ct. 448, 454, 93 L.Ed. 513 (1949).
Here, the residents of the block do have
some right not to be obstructed, bothered,
Or abused by myriad demonstrators on their
street. Although the New York Police have
not explicitly instituted the restrictions
because of this factor, they have tacitly
acknowledged a need for privacy in adopt-
A-21
ing the standards set out in Dollinger.5
This privacy interest is an important con-
Sideration in tilting the balance toward
the constitutionality of the restrictions.
Further supporting our holding is the
fact that the restrictions impose only a
minimal inhibition on the ability of CJy
to communicate its ideas. The group is
free to demonstrate diagonally across from
the Mission where the Mission personnel
cant ‘see and hear them. (Tr. 142). Addi-
tional space for demonstrating is avail-
able in the immediate area. When asked
what was the purpose of the demonstration
in front of the Mission, a co-chairman of
CJY stated "To publicize the cause of So-
viet Jewry". (Tr. 20). This suggests
5. Dollinger was a suit by residents of
the area. Demonstrators were limited
in the area specifically because of the
previous infringement on the residents’
privacy right.
>>
A-22
that the audience at which the demonstra-
tion was directed was the American public
at large. We see little impact on the ef-
fectiveness of the communication, or on
the ability of CJY to convey its ideas to
those persons, because of these restric-
tions. The fact that the restrictions
Only minimally inhibit expression serve to
lighten the balance on the side of CJy,
confirming our holding that these restric-
tions are permissible.
One final point that must be discussed
before addressing the "sound device” re-
strictions is the manner in which these
restrictions were imposed. Surely a nar-
rowly drafted legislative enactment spe-
cifically outlining the restrictions would
be constitutionally proper. But this case
involves the decision of the police made
according to power vested in them by a
municipal ordinance. Pursuant to the or-
A-23
dinance, the police adopted restrictions
on demonstrations in front of the Russian
Mission, which had been outlined, in part,
in a state court opinion.
The New York City Charter § 435
States, in relevant part:
"The police department and force
shall have the power and it shall
be their duty to preserve the
public peace . . . disperse un-
lawful or dangerous assemblages
and assemblages which obstruct
the free passage of public
Streets, sidewalks, parks and
places; protect the rights of
persons and property, guard the
public health, preserve order at
- « « @ll public meetings and as-
semblages; [and] . .. control
and restrict the movement of .. .
pedestrain traffic for the facil-
itation of traffic and the conve-
nience of the public as well as
the proper protection of human
life and health. ..."
Pursuant to this mandate, and after ana-
lyzing the previous violence, disturbances,
and the potential for danger in front of
the Soviet Mission, the New York City po-
lice sought to prohibit entirely demon-
A-24
strations on the Russian Mission block.
Later, in an action brought by residents
of the block, Millan House Inc. v. Murphy,
Civ. No. 10560 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County 1971)
Justice Isidore Dollinger of the New York
County Supreme Court approved the police's
decision respecting demonstrations. But
he held, among other things, that the
groups involved in that suit would be lim-
ited to 12 demonstrators in the immediate
vicinity of the Russian Mission. The po-
lice then evidently revised the restric-—
tions on demonstrations to 12 persons in
the "bull pen" area and added the overflow:
location. When Captain Selvaggi took com-
mand of the 19th Precinct, he made some
minor changes in the restrictions on dem-
onstrating, but basically kept the same
arrangements. (Tr. 147).
We find that the restrictions imposed
by the police pursuant to the mandate of
*%
°y
A-25
§ 435 are constitutionally proper. Al-
though the ordinance gives the police a
certain amount of latitude in protecting
persons, "Condemned to the use of words,
we can never expect mathematical certainty
from our language". Grayned v. City of
Rockford, 408 U.S. at 110, 92 S.Ct. at
2300 (footnote omitted). "It is, of
course, undisputed that appropriate, lim-
ited discretion, under properly drawn
statutes or ordinances, concerning the
time, place, duration, or manner of use of
the streets [and presumably sidewalks] for
public assemblies may be vested in admin-
istrative officials. . .." Cox v. Loui-
Siana, 379 U.S. 536, 85 S.Ct. 453, 466, 13
L.Ed. 2d 471 (1965). This is especially
true where, as here, the ordinance has
been given a narrow construction by the
police department. Furthermore here there
is little real effect on the legitimate
A-26
expression of ideas.© As has been pointed
out, CJY is allowed to demonstrate and
convey its feelings within sight of the
Russian Mission. The use of the overflow
area by the excess over 12 demonstrators
does not have a real and substantial ef-
fect on CJY's conveying the claimed inigq-
uity of the treatment of Jews in Russia.
Additionally, the fact that the or-
dinance deals with police protection in
New York City is of import. As Justice
Frankfurter has said:
"We must be mindful of the enor-
mous difficulties confronting
those charged with the task of
enabling the polyglot millions
in the City of New York to live
in peace and tolerance. Street-
preaching in Columbus Circle is
done in a milieu quite different
from preaching on a New England
6. Cf. Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville,
422 U.s. 205, 216, 95 S.Ct. 2268, 2276,
45 L.Ed.2d 125 (1975) (discussion of
criteria used to determine if a state
statute is valid on its face).
A-27
village green." Niemotko v.
ere Sis. 328. 380 5 tka
325, 328 (1951) Frankfurter, J.,
concurring).
Likewise, demonstrating on a narrow side-
street in the crowded Upper East Side of
New York City presents more difficult
problems than protesting on main Street
in a small community.
II.
We turn now to the restriction on
the use of sound equipment on the Mission
block. In this case, use of the device
was not banned, but rather the location at
' which the loud speaker could be used was
restricted. That restriction also passes
constitutional muster, and we affirm the
decision of the District Court on this
point.
We note initially that because
sound devices have a way of making a lis-
tener out of someone who may not wish to
A-28
hear, their use may be curtailed. See
Kovacs v. Cooper, 36 U.S. 77, 86-87, 69
S.Ct. 448, 453, 93 L.Ed. 513 (1949). This
is because freedom of speech does not in-
Clude the right to intrude or force one's
viewpoint on a hapless resident or bypass-
er. Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15, 21,
91 S.Ct. 1780, 1986, 29 L.Ed. 2d 284 (1971).
"In his home or on the street [an unwill-
ing listener] is practically helpless to
escape this interference with his privacy
by loud speakers except through the pro-
tection of the municipality." Kovacs,
Supra, 336 U.S. at 87, 69 S.Ct. at 453.
Finally, the Supreme Court has pointed out
"The hours and place of public discussion
can be controlled." Saia v. New York, 334
U.S. 558, 562, 68 S.Ct. 1148, 1150, 92
L.Ed. 1574 (1948).
We hold that as applied to the appel-
lants in this case the restrictions on
A-29
their use of sound equipment, imposed
after tacit consideration of the Dollinger
decision and the New York Administrative
code,’ do not run afoul of the constitu-
tion. Implicit in the restrictions is the
finding that there is an overriding gov-
ernmental interest in maintaining the area
ivmediately in front of the Russian Mis-
sion free from excessive noise. This is
primarily for the benefit of the personnel
working and living in the Mission, but is
also for the benefit of the area residents
and the various institutions near the Mis-
sion (a school, synagogue, firehouse, and
police station). We cannot say that the
restriction, adopted by the police depart-
ment after consideration of the locale,
imposes such a barrier to CJY's right to
7. Section 435-6.0 which deals with the
regulation of sound devices in New York
City.
7s
*%
A-30
free expression so as to be constitution-
ally infirm. See A Quaker Action Group
v. Morton, 516 F.2d 717, 734 (D.C. Cir.
1975). Such restrictions are especially
necessary in the City of New York where
multifarious interests associated with the
millions of residents, visitors, and work-
ers must be balanced so that all may live
in mutual tolerance.
We affirm the decision of the dis-
trict court.
MANSFIELD, Circuit Judge (dissenting):
I dissent. We have long recognized
the inadvisability of entrusting to the
protectors of public order the unchecked
authority to restrain First Amendment ac-
tivity, for there is a tension, requiring
careful and sensitive balancing, between
freedom and order. Therefore the Consti-
tution has long been read to prevent the
police from imposing substantial prior re-
A-31
Straints except pursuant to considered and
detailed legislative guidelines. Even
then, close judicial scrutiny must follow.
This case presents an unfortunate ex-
ample of the consequences of carte blanche
legislative authorization and deferential
judicial review. In my view the New York
City police, in the name of peace and pub-
lic order, have engaged in an unlawful
overkill and prior restraint of appellants'
exercise of their First Amendment right to
picket and demonstrate in a peaceful and
orderly manner. The restrictions go far
beyond measures that are justifiable as
reasonably necessary to public needs. The
reason for this sad state of affairs is
that state legislation and the City Char-
ter purport to vest the police with vir-
tually unlimited authority to impose re-
strictions upon lawful demonstrations. In
the absence of any legislative standards
A-32
the police, instead of proscribing only
activity posing a serious threat to soci-
ety and searching for less restrictive al-
ternat:ives, have chosen the easier course
of riding rough-shod over the demonstra-
tors' exercise of First Amendment rights
in the very place where they are entitled
to the most protection - our city's streets.
It is rather ironic and unfortunate that
at a time when the President of our coun-
try is calling upon all peoples and nations
to demonstrate against the recent Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan, our local police
should be vested with powers enabling them
completely to bar response to this exhor-
tation.
We start with certain indisputable
propositions of law. The first of these
is that public places, particularly streets
and sidewalks, are the normal and natural
locations for our citizens' exercise of
A-33
their First Amendment right of free speech.
"Wherever the title of streets
and parks may rest, they have
immemorially been held in trust
for the use of the public and,
time out of mind, have been used
for purposes of assembly, commu-
nicating thoughts between citi-
zens, and discussing public ques-
tions. Such use of the streets
and public places has, from an-
cient times, been a part of the
privileges, immunities, rights
and liberties of citizens."
Hague v. C.1I.0., 307 U.S. 496,
515, 59 S.Ct. 954, 964, 83 L.Ed
1423 (1939) (Roberts, J.).
See also Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights,
418 U.S. 298, 303, 94 S.Ct. 2714, 2717, 41
L.Ed.2d 770 (1974); Wolin v. Port of New
York, 392 F.2d 83, 89 (2d Cir.), cert.
denied, 393 U.S. 940, 89 S.Ct. 290, 21
L.Ed.2d 275 (1968).
While the state may reasonably regu-
late the time, place and manner of the
exercise of First Amendment rights as nec-
essary to protection of other compelling
public interests, Grayned v. City of Rock-
ford, 408 U.S. 104, 115-16, 92 S.Ct. 2294,
ee ee mn eR
A-34
2302-03, 33 L.Ed.2d 222 (1972); Police
Dept. v. Mosley, 408 U.S. 92, S.Ct. 2286,
2291, 33 L.Ed.2d 212 (1972); Adderley v.
Florida, 385 U.S. 39 87 S.Ct. 242, 17 L.Ed.
2d 149 (1966); Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S.
ry
536, 554-55, 85 S.Ct. 453, 464, 13 L.Ed.
2d 471 (1965), “time and place" regula-
tions can enormously hinder the individ-
ual's ability to engage in effective advo-
cacy. A number of limitations on this
type of regulation are therefore essential.
Where direction is to be vested in admin-
istrative officials, it must be “appropri-
ate, limited discretion under properly
- drawn statutes or ordinances." Cox v.
Louisiana, supra, 379 U.S. at 558, 85 S.Ct.
at 466 (emphasis supplied). See also
Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham, 394
U.S. 147, 89 S.Ct. 935, 22 L.Ed. 2d 162
(1969); Saia v. New York, 334 U.S. 558,
562, 68 S.Ct. 1148, 1150, 92 L.Ed. 1574
A-35
(1948). The exercise of First Amendment
rights may not be abridged at the unbri-
dled will or broad discretion of govern-
ment officials, even though this would
doubtless facilitiate law enforcement and
Spare public expenses and inconvenience.
The more substantial the encroachment on
protected rights, the greater the need for
carefully considered and articulated stan-
dards. "Access to the 'streets, sidewalks,
parks, and other similar public places
- + « for the purpose of exercising [First
Amendment rights] cannot constitutionally
be denied broadly. ...'" Grayned v.
City of Rockford, supra, 408 U.S. at 117,
92 S.Ct. at 2304 (quoting Amalgamated Food
Employees v. Logan Valley Plaza, Inc., 391
U.S. 308, 315, 88 S.Ct. 1601, 1606, 20
L.Ed. 2d 603 (1968)).
Even when regulations are fully au-
thorized by explicit and narrow legisla-
A-36
tive authority, they must be "narrowly
tailored to further the State's legitimate
interest," Grayned v. City of Rockford,
supra, 408 U.S.at 116-117, 92 S.Ct. at
2303-2304; Police Dept. v. Mosley, supra;
Cox v. New Hampshire, 312 U.S. 569, 575-76,
61 S.Ct. 762, 765, 85 L.Ed. 1049 (1941).
The state bears the burden of justifying
restrictions, e.g., Cohen v. California,
403 U.S. 15, 20, 91 S.Ct. 1780, 1785, 29
L.Ed. 2d 284 (1971). Regulations which
take the form of prior restraints are sub-
ject to particularly exacting judicial
scrutiny. Organizations for a Better
Austin v. Keefe, 402 U.S. 415, 419, 91
S.Ct. 1575, 1577 29 L.Ed. 2d 1 (1971);
Carroll v. President & Comm'rs of Princess
anne, 393 U.S. 175, 181, 89 S.Ct. 347, 351,
21 L.Ed. 2d 325 (1968). Moreover, exer-
cise of First Amenament rights, when logi-
cally related to a particular forum, is
A-37
further protected from regulations which
would preclude the use of that place.
Brown v. Louisiana, 383 U.S. 131, 86 S.Ct.
719, 15 L.Ed. 2d 637 (1966) (plurality
opinion); Albany Welfare Rights Org. v.
Wyman, 493 F.2d 1319, 1323-24 (2d Cir.),
cert. denied, 419 U.S. 383, 95 S.Ct. 66,
42 L.Ed.2d 64 (1974).
In balancing the individual's right
to demonstrate against the concern for
quiet or the protection of others, the
competing interests must be assessed on an
individual basis; blanket bans and abso-
lute prohibitions against picketing in
front of or near a site have been univer-
Sally condemned where a less restrictive
and more sharply tailored alternative may
be formulated. As the Supreme Court stat-
ed in Police Dept. v. Mosley, supra, 408
U.S. at 100-01, 92 S.Ct. at 2293:
"Predictions about imminent dis-
ruption from picketing involve
A-38
judgments appropriately made on
an individualized basis, not by
means of broad classifications,
especially those based on sub-
ject matter."
In short, although limited regulation is
permitted, it must be carefully defined
and sufficiently circumscribed to minimize
the opportunities for abuse of discretion
on the part of administrative officials,
lest this treasured constitutional right
of free speech and expression be subjected
to excessive or unnecessary restraints.
None of the foregoing principles are
likely to make the policeman's lot a happy
one. The proper acquittal of this heavy
responsibility is difficult. The officer's
life would be easier if he had broad dis-
cretion to squelch free speech and uésem-
bly without the necessity of tailoring
any restraints to what is absolutely nec-
essary in each individual case. Unfortu-
nately such discretion has been permitted
A-39
in the present instance, where the police
have been accommodated by both state and
city. The result, unsurprisingly, is an
excessive restraint. With due respect,
the majority has either misconceived the
function of the police in this tension or
given only lip service to basic time-hon-
ored principles of free speech and expres-
sion.
Section 435 of the New York City
Charter provides in pertinent part that
"(t]he police department and force shall
have the power ... to preserve the public
peace [and] disperse awful or dangerous
assemblages and assemblages which obstruct
the free passage of the public streets,
sidewalks, parks and places." It is pur-
suant to this all-encompassing grant of
power that the police claim the authority
to impose restrictions on the block of the
Soviet Mission. This is not their first
|
-%
A-40
such essay. The police previously at-
tempted to bar all demonstrations on this
very block, claiming authority under this
same general statute. The courts of New
York had no difficulty concluding that
§ 435 could not constitutionally, and did
not, authorize such a prohibition:
"Neither City nor State autho-
rizes the policy to permanently
and absolutely close a public
street to those persons seeking
to exercise their First Amend-
ment rights. Such prohibition
is therefore unlawful." People
v. Solomonow, 56 Misc. 2d 1050,
291 N.Y.S.2d 145, 150 (N.Y.
County 1968).
While the present restrictions on
demonstrations are not quite as absolute
as the total ban invalidated in Solomonow,
their effect is nearly the same. Twelve
lonely demonstrators, without sound equip-
ment, may walk in a small barricaded area
far removed from the Soviet Mission -- at
the end of the block on the other side of
the street. Should any more than 12 wish
A-41
to demonstrate, they must move to a dif-
ferent block. This handful of demonstra-
tors is unlikely to be seen or heard,
while demonstrators choosing to picket
other sites must endure no such restric-
tions. If the statute does not authorize
absolute bans, I must conclude that the
present regulations are similarly unautho-
rized and unlawful.
If the statute is to be read as con-
ferring authority on the police to imple-
ment the restrictions, it does not meet
constitutional requirements. This broad
grant of uncontrolled authority, which the
police in their absolute discretion have
used in deciding that all assemblages ex-
cept those restricted to 12 people cor-
doned off down the block are "dangerous,"
is hardly in keeping with the requirement
that a regulatory statute be "precise and
narrowly drawn," Edwards v. South Carolina,
A-42
372 U.S. 229, 236, 83 S.Ct. 680, 684, 9
L.Ed. 2d 697 (1963); Cox v. Louisiana, 379
U.S. 559, 562, 85 S.Ct. 476, 479, 13 L.Ed.
2d 487 (1965); Niemotko v. Maryland, 340
U.S. 268, 272, 71 S.Ct. 325, 327, 95 L.Ed.
328 (1951). No standards are offered to
guide the police in balancing the individ-
ual's right to assemble, picket and demon-
strate against the necessity for preserva-
tion of public order and protection of the
Soviet Mission. Indeed, as in Niemotko v.
Maryland, supra, 340 U.S. at 272, 71 S.Ct.
at 327, "({n]o standards appear anywhere;
no narrowly drawn limitations; no circum-
scribing of this absolute power; no sub-
stantial interest of the community to be
served." The regulation, instead of being
designed to protect constitutional rights,
appears to be tailor-made to preserve "law
and order" at any cost.
_
A-43
Regardless of the lack of statutory
authority or of a constitutionally accep-
table basis for the police restrictions in
the present case, it is clear that the
police failed to make an adequate showing
of the necessity for such harsh conditions
as were imposed upon appellants. In the
first place the police failed at the out-
set, when advised by Concerned Jewish
Youth (CJY) that its members proposed to
demonstrate peacefully and in orderly
fashion on the sidewalk in front of the
Soviet Mission, to ascertain whether CJy
could be expected to act responsibly and
whether it posed any substantial risk of
violence or danger to the Mission or any-
one else. Instead the local police fol-
lowed their practice of automatically and
blindly applying an order that had been:
entered seven years earlier by the late
Justice Isidore Dollinger of the New York
A-44
State Supreme Court in Millan House v.
Murphy, Civ. No. 10560 (N.Y. County 1971),
which involved an entirely different group
of defendants, some believed to be mili-
tant (Jewish Defense League, Student Strug-
gle for Soviet), that had previously en-
gaged in massive and unruly demonstrations
in front of the Soviet Mission. With min-
imal attention to First Amendment concerns
and without any findings as to less re-
strictive alternatives, the court there
impose’ restrictions limited to the defen-
dants in that case.
Seven years later, after being ad-
vised of the CJY's plans the police, rather
than fulfilling their duty of making an
individualized determination, informed
them of the policy, pursuant to the unlim-
ited discretion vested in them by § 435,
of applying the "Dollinger”" order to all
persons who might seek to demonstrate in
A-45
the future. This was patently wrong and
violated the police's basic obligation to
determine what restrictions, if any, might
be required in this entirely different
case. "In our system, undifferentiated
fear or apprehension of disturbance is not
enough to overcome the right to freedom of
expression." Police Dept. v. Mosley,
Supra, 408 U.S. at 101, 92 S.Ct. at 2293
(quoting Tinker v. Des Moines School Dis-
trict, 393 U.S. 503, 508, 89 S.Ct. 733,
737, 21 L.Ed.2d 731 (1969)).
Indeed as the record shows, this is
an entirely different case from Millan
House v. Murphy. If the police had inves-
tigated they would have found that, unlike
the parties to the "“Dollinger" case, the
CJY has rejected association with militant
Organizations working in the cause of
Soviet Jewry. The CJY, in contrast to the
Jewish Defense League (JDL) is dedicated
A-46
to accomplishment of its aims without vio-
lence. It first approached the police,
not vice versa, on the subject of demon-
Sstrating, even though it was under no
legal obligation to do so. It sought to
demonstrate peacefully by simply marching
in an oval shape during daylight hours on
the 15'4" wide sidewalk in front of the
Soviet Mission, without harassing anyone
entering or leaving the Mission or block-
ing the street or entrance to any building.
The CJY has indicated that it was even
willing to consider being required to re-
Strict its demonstrations to a "bull-pen"
or confined area in front of the Mission
Or to one side of its entrance. The CJY
has no history of violence and there is no
evidence that it might be goaded into vio-
lence or harassment or used as a cover for
such kind of operations. Indeed Judge
Pollack, who viewed some CJY members, re-
A-47
ferred to it as "an organization of nice
young men from Queens whose purposes have
a very therapeutic appeal."
In what appears to be a belated ef-
fort to justify their automatic, reflex
reliance on the "Dollinger" order to re-
fuse any demonstration on the sidewalk
near the Mission, the police attempted in
the district court to show that they had
learned that others, such as FALN, JDL and
anti-Castro Cubans, had planned to attach
themselves to any "large-scale" demonstra-
tions in order to plant bombs. The major-
ity further points to news articles about
a recent bombing (since the district court
hearing) which did not involve any demon-
stration at all. However, it is not con-
tended that any of this had anything to do
with the CJY, which is a peaceful organi-
zation, or its members. The CJY, moreover,
does not seek "large-scale" demonstrations
A-48
and its history of giving advance notice
to the police of its plan to demonstrate
is inconsistent with fears of violence or
lawlessness on its part. Many people walk
past the Soviet Mission daily. If someone
intends to bomb the Mission, he will do it
without any assistance from the CJY.
The police further seek support for
their action by pointing to 18 U.S.C.
§ 112, which makes it a federal crime to
demonstrate within 100 feet of a foreign
mission with intent to coerce, harass or
obstruct a foreign official. That statute,
however, affords the City no justification
for the draconian restrictions imposed
here. Aside from the necessity of proving
specific intent - and in the present case
the CJY expressly disclaims any intent to
harass or obstruct members of the Mission
- the same statute provides that nothing
in it shall be construed to abridge First
’>
A-49
Amendment rights, 18 U.S.C. § 112(d).
Moreover, in enacting § 112 Congress took
pains repeatedly to express concern for
recognition of the right to "legitimate
expression and assembly." See S. Rep. No.
92-1105, 92nd Cong., 2nd Sess. 1972, U.S.
Code Cong. & Admin. News 4316, 4328.
In short, the restriction imposed by
the New York police on the CJY is imper-
missibly broad and, in the absence of a
finding based on substantial evidence that
less restrictive alternatives would not
reasonably protect the public interest in
peace and order, is a violation of appel-
lants' constitutional rights. It embodies
a philosophy of governmental power that is
contrary to basic precepts repeatedly en-
dorsed by the Supreme Court with respect
to the First Amendment. The police erro-
neously presume that an order issued with
respect to other persons under other cir-
‘
————
A-50
cumstances may thereafter be applied to
all, regardless of a sharp difference in
circumstances. They also presume that any
would be demonstrators, though not shown
to be associated with the parties to the
earlier order, are dangerous. They ignore
the fact that to justify these extreme re-
Strictions, the burden is on the police to
investigate and balance the interests in
each case, with respect for the presump-
tion in favor of exercise of First Amend-
ment rights. This difficult task they
have refused to face.
Moreover, the attitude of the City is
that since the "Dollinger" order permits
some demonstrating, however far from the
Mission, that should suffice. This ig-
nores the principle that since the effec-
tiveness of any demonstration depends on
its proximity to the target and the rele-
vant audience, it is unlawful to exile
A-51
demonstrators to an irrelevant milieu.
Wolin v. Port Authority of New York, supra,
392 F.2d at 90. The purposes of a peace-
ful and orderly rally or demonstration are
to try to impress the target - in this
case the Soviet occupants of the Mission -
and to publicize the cause to others.
Neither objective is served by a demon-
Stration elsewhere, around “he corner or
at the other end of the block on the other
side of the street (where the sidewalk is
substantially the same width, 16 feet 4
inches as compared with 15 feet four inch-
es). If persons may be permitted to dem-
onstrate in front of a school, Grayned yv.
City of Rockford, supra, in a library,
Brown v. Louisiana, supra, or at the White
House and its executive offices, A Quaker
Action Group v. Morton, 516 F.2d 717 (D.C.
Cir. 1975), surely a right to demonstrate
in front of a foreign mission should not
A-52
be denied out of hand. See Greenberg v.
Murphy, 329 F.Supp. 37 (S.D.N.Y. 1971)
(permitting picketing at side entrance of
United States Mission to UN and presenta-
tion of petitions at front entrance).
For similar reasons the police's ab-
solute ban on use by the CJY of any sound
equipment whatsoever on the Soviet Mission
block cannot be justified as a matter of
law. Indeed it clearly violates § 435-6.0
of New York City's Administrative Code,
which obligates the City to issue sound
permits under specified conditions. CJy
has unequivocally agreed in writing to
abide by these conditions, affirming that
it would not employ sound equipment during
school, worship or sleeping hours. The
effect of the denial is to give the Mis-
sion more protection from sound equipment
than other New York City residents. We
are not here confronted with the constitu-
—
—_—_———
A~53
tionality of a law prohibiting all sound
equipment in residential areas, which
would present a different case, but with a
law that entitles the CJY to a permit.
The majority agrees that the police gave
"tacit consideration" to the statute.
Surely the police must do more than give
tacit consideration to the governing law
they must follow it.
Notwithstanding the CJY's entitlement
to a permit, the police simply brushed off
its application by again invoking the
seven year old prohibitions of the "Dol-
linger" order, even though it involved
different parties, a different time and
different conditions. In my view the de-
nial is unconscionable.
It is an unfortunate if understand-
able fact of life that because of the very
nature of their function of maintaining
law and order in a community the police
A-54
cannot be relied upon to respect First
Amendment rights where to do so would only
serve to increase their own burdens and
risks. For this reason it is vital that
the courts, as the only haven of refuge
for those seeking protection of their
rights, be eternally vigilant and willing
to command police respect for First Amend-
ment rights rather than acquiesce in their
denial, which is the easier course. The
erosion of human rights is usually begun
with the excuse that curtailment is essen-
tial to meet an emergency or avoid a
threat to public order. But the ultimate
strength of our constitutional guarantees
lies in their being unhesitatingly applied
in times of crisis and tranquility alike.
"If the provisions of the Constitution be
not upheld when they pinch as well as when
they comfort, they may as well be aban-
doned." Home Building & Loan Assn. v.
A-55
Blaisdell, 290 U.S. 398, 483, 54 S.Ct. 231,
256, 78 L.Ed. 413 (1943) (Sutherland, J.,
dissenting). With due respect, the major-
ity in my view abdicates its responsibil-
ity for insuring that First Amendment
rights are not lightly cast aside or ig-
nored in the name of law and order.
For these reasons, I would remand the
case to the district court with directions
to enter a preliminary injunction on terms
and conditions that will permit demonstra-
tions by the CJY near the Soviet Mission,
reasonably limited as to time, place,
method and number of participants, in lieu
of the cavalier denial through invocation
of the so-called "Dollinger" order.
A-56
Appendix B
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
CONCERN JEWISH YOUTH, :
Plaintiff, : 78 Civ.4891 (MP)
Vv. :
ROBERT J. MCGUIRE, in his $
official capacity as Police
Commissioner of the City of :
New York, EDWARD KOCH, in
his official capacity as :
the Mayor of the City of
New York, and the NEW YORK :
POLICE DEPARTMENT,
Defendants.
APPEARANCES:
WILLKIE FARR & GALLAGHER
Attorneys for Plaintiff
153 East 53rd Street
New York, New York 10022
By: Howard C. Buschmann, III,
Debra M. Evenson, Charlotte B.
Hubbell, Jeanne M. Luboja,
Benito Romano, John M. McEnany,
Of Counsel.
A-57
ALLEN G. SCHWARTZ, CORPORATION
COUNSEL FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK
100 Church Street
New York, New York 10007
By: Joseph F. Bruno, Rosemary
Carroll, Pamela McGovern Gaskins,
Of Counsel.
ROBERT B. FISKE, JR.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
1 St. Andrews Plaza
New York, New York 10007
By: Frederick P. Schaffer,
Jane E. Bloom, Katherine R.
Trager, Of Counsel.
MILTON POLLACK, District Judge.
This is a motion for a preliminary
injunction enjoining the defendants, the
Mayor and Police Commissioner of New York
City, from enforcing the restrictions on
demonstrations at the Soviet Mission to
the United Nations currently in effect.
Plaintiff alleges that the current re-
strictions impermissibly infringe on the
rights of its members protected by the
first amendment guarantee of free speech
and assembly.
A-58
The Soviet Mission is located at 136
East 67th Street, between Lexington and
Third Avenues, on the south side of the
street. The Mission building contains the
offices of the Mission and residential
apartments for some of the Russian employ-
ees of the Mission.
The restrictions currently enforced
at the Mission by the defendants evolved
from the terms of a preliminary injunction
entered by Justice Dollinger of New York
State Supreme Court in 1971. Plaintiff
was not a party to the state court action,
which has not yet gone to trial.
Defendants permit no demonstrations
on the Mission block, except that they
permit 12 demonstrators to stand behind
barricades in a designated "bull pen" area.
That area, on the sidewalk in front of the
apartment building at 167 East 67th Street,
is approximately 118 feet from the front
A-59
entrance to the Mission, diagonally across
the street toward Third Avenue.
The 12 demonstrators in the bull pen
are subject to search and must identify
themselves to the police on demand. No
permits for the use of sound equipment are
issued for the Mission block. Any demon-
Strators in excess of twelve and any sound
equipment must remain on the far, or west
side of Lexington Avenue.
The plaintiff, CJY, seeks a prelimi-
nary injunction and order which would per-
mit it to hold peacful demonstrations on
the Mission block. In particular, it
seeks to hold demonstrations involving no
more than 30 of its members on the side-
walk directly in front of the Mission, but
not blocking its front door. The proposed
order specifies that no entrances to any
building on the block would be obstructed.
Plaintiff further seeks to use sound equip-
A-60
ment on the Mission block, its use to be
limited to the hours between 9:00 A.M. and
10:00 P.M. and not during school hours or
worship services at the synagogue.
In order to be entitled to prelimi-
nary relief, the plaintiff must show
possible irreparable injury and
either (1) probable success on the
merits or (2) sufficiently serious
questions going to the merits to
make them a fair ground to litiga-
tion and a balance of hardships
tipping decidedly toward the party
requesting the preliminary relief.
Caulfield v. Board of Education, 583 F.2d
605, 610 (2d Cir. 1978).
CJY
CJY is an unincorporated membership
organization with about 300 members of
whom approximately fifty are active. CJy
is a registered student organization at
A-61
Queens College, where it is headquartered.
The group was founded in 1975.
The stated goals of CJY are to conm-
bat anti-semitism, to help the Jewish poor,
to work for the causes of Soviet and Arab
Jewry, and to help other organizations.
CJY is unaffiliated with other organiza-
tions, although it identifies with Herut-
U.S.A., a Zionist group which supports
the Herut Party in Israel. A CJY leader
testified that most, if not all of the
aims of CJY can be accomplished through
non-violent action.
In June 1978 CJY held a demonstra-
tion at the Mission. It applied for a
permit to use sound equipment at the dem-
onstration. Sixteen CJY members attempted
to demonstrate on the Mission block, but
only 12 were permitted to enter the demon-
stration area on the block. The four
others had to remain on the west side of
A-62
Lexington Avenue on 67th Street. Sound
equipment was permitted only on the west
side of Lexington Avenue. The demonstra-
tion was peaceful and orderly.
Wayne Perlmutter, a CJY leader pres-
ent at the June demonstration, testified
that the permitted number of demonstrators
was too small to effectively carry their
message to the people in the Mission, to
attract media attention, or to encourage
others to join their cause.
CJY was involved in two prior inci-
dents of unlawful acts. A CJY member was
arrested at a tennis match in Madison
Square Garden for creating a disturbance
by unfurling a banner and using a bullhorn.
In a second incident, some CJY members
Overturned the literature tables of an-
other student group at Queens College.
In 1978 CJY had an income of approx-
imately $900, derived from various sources.
A-63
Demonstrations at the Mission
Defendants put several dozen police
reports into evidence. Twenty-one of the
reports concerned demonstrations at which
no arrests were made. The number of den-
Onstrators at these ranged from three to
1000; eleven of the demonstrations in-
volved more than 30 people.
Eighteen reports concerned demon-
Strations at which arrests were made. The
demonstrations ranged in size from one to
3500; twelve had more than 30 people. The
number of persons arrested ranged from one
to 89. All of the demonstrations occurred
between 1971 and 1978.
The need to regulate demonstrations
at the Mission
Several police officials testified
as to their opinions on the need for regu-
lation in the vicinity of the Mission.
Detective Rosenthal, who had infiltrated
the JDL as an intelligence agent, attended
A-64
several demons ‘rations and stated that it
was easy to goad peaceful demonstrators to
violence. He believes that the police
cannot control a large number of demon-
Strators, and felt that a safety problem
7 would arise if the current restrictions
are lifted.
Detective Perola, a bomb squad in-
vestigator, said that no bomb had been ex-
ploded at the Mission during the last nine
years, but that the police had learned of
four plans to bomb the Mission during
1971-72. He said that among the tactics
used by violent groups was the infiltra-
: tion of demonstrations by peaceful groups
to permit the bombers to approach the tar-
get without drawing the attention of the
police. Perola testified that there would
be a reasonable likelihood of danger to
the Mission if picketing by any number of
" A-65
people was permitted in front of the Mis-
sion.
David Fallek, a retired police in-
spector who was in charge of the Mission
area prior to 1972, stated his opinion
. that the current restrictions at the Mis-
sion are necessary to maintain peace there.
He felt that any demonstration on the Mis-
sion blocks presents a danger to the po-
lice.
Captain Selvaggi, commander of the
19th Precinct, stated that approximately
25 percent of his force is devoted to pro-
tecting the 45 diplomatic locations in the
area. He believes that demonstrators
Should not be allowed directly in front of
the Mission because emotions tend to rise
near the Mission. He said that the chance
that some demonstrators would break away
and try to enter the Mission poses a safe-
ty problem, because he believes that the
A-66
Russians would use “deadly physical force"
to eject intruders and to maintain control
of their premises.
Captain Selvaggi testified as to how
the police settled on the restrictions en-
forced at the Mission. The particular
picket site was chosen so as to be more
than 100 feet from the Mission (it is
about 120 feet away), not to interfere
with the functions of other buildings on
the block (a school, a police station, a
fire station, a synagogue), to be within
view of the Mission (diagonally across the
Street), and to be on a relatively wide
part of the sidewalk so that non-demon-
strators may pass by. The limitation of
the number of demonstrators on the block
to twelve and the prohibition of the use
of sound equipment appear to have been de-
rived solely from the 1971 state court
preliminary injunction. Selvaggi stated
A-67
that the requirement that demonstrators
identify themselves and subject themselves
to search is not enforced by the police at
the present time.
Regulation of speech and assembly
It is well settled that picketing
and demonstrations may be subject to rea-
sonable "time, place and manner" regula-
tions where necessary to further signifi-
cant governmental interests, notwithstand-
ing the expressive elements of such con-
duct. "[P]eople who want to propagandize
protests or view [do not] have a constitu-
tional right to do so whenever and however
and wherever they please." Adderley v.
Florida, 385 U.S. 39, 48, 87 S.Ct. 242,
247, 17 L.Ed. 2d 149 (1966).
In assessing the reasonableness of a
restriction on expressive conduct, "the
first amendment .. . requires... that
the balance struck in any particular situ-
A-68
ation properly reflects the central posi-
tion of free expression in the constitu-
tional scheme." L. Tribe, American Con-
stitutional Law 582 (1978). The regula-
tion of picketing must not "substantially
hinder," Amalgamated Food Employees Union
v. Logan Valley Plaza, Inc., 391 U.S. 308,
323, 88 S.Ct. 1601, 20 L.Ed. 2d 603 (1968),
or “unduly constrict", Tribe, supra at 581,
the communication of the ideas sought to
be expressed.
Streets and sidewalks “cannot be put
off limits to... first amendment activ-
ities merely to spare public expense or
inconvenience." Tribe, supra at 689.
"The right to use a public place for ex-
pressive activity may be restricted only
for weighty reasons." Grayned v. City of
Rockford, 408 U.S 104, 115, $2 S.Ct. 2294,
2303, 33 L.Ed. 2d 222 (1972). To with-
stand scrutiny, "the regulations must be
A-69
narrowly tailored to further the State's
legitimate interest." Id. at 116-17, 92
S.Ct. at 2304.
Whenever it can be demonstrated that
the result of the government's rule
or policy is to limit in some sig-
nificant degree the ease or effec-
tiveness with which a speaker can
reach a specific audience with a
Particular message, the government
Should lose the case unless it can
establish that an important public
objective unrelated to the message
would be sacrificed by any less re-
Strictive alternative.
Tribe, supra at 686.
One factor in the balancing process
is the nature of the forum for the expres-
sive activity in question. "The nature of
a place, ‘the pattern of its normal activ-
ities, dictate the kinds of regulations of
A-70
time, place and manner that are reason-
able.'" Grayned v. City of Rockford,
Supra at 116, 92 S.Ct. at 2303 (quoting
Wright, The Constitution on the Campus, 22
Vand. L. Rev. 1027, 1042 (1969). "“[P]Jlaces
that have traditionally been associated
with the public exchange of views...
represent areas within which tolerance for
inhibitions on speech, petition and assem-
bly is at a minimum, and government's bur-
den of justification at its highest."
Tribe, supra at 684. The public streets
are one such "public forum."
Wherever the title of streets and
parks may rest, they have immemori-
ally been held in trust for the use
of the public and time out of mind,
have been used for purposes of as-
sembly, communicating thoughts be-
tween citizens, and discussing pub-
lic questions. Such use of the
A-71
streets and public places has, from
ancient times, been a part of the
privileges, immunities, rights and
liberties of citizens.
Hague v. C.1.0., 307 U.S. 496, 515, 59
S.Ct. 954, 964, 83 L.Ed. 1423 (1939).
However, the street and sidewalk are
not the sole issue in the instant case.
Expressive activity adjacent to other in-
stitutions, e.g., a school or a courthouse,
may be regulated if it will otherwise "ma-
terially disrupt" the normal activities of
the institution. Grayned v. City of Rock-
ford, supra, 408 U.S. at 118, 119, 92 S.Ct.
2294. Regulation is permissible to pre-
vent interference with the normal use of
and access to the site of the expressive
activity. Amalagamted Food Employees
Union v. Logan Valley Plaza, Inc., supra,
391 U.S. at 321, 88 S.Ct. 1601. Concern
over disruption of "normal activities" is
A-72
less weighty where the institution has a
political or speech-related function.
Thus, picketing near a courthouse may be
prohibited because the picketers' inten-
tion to influence judges, jurors or wit-
nesses is inconsistent with the unbiased,
unprejudiced administration of justice.
Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 559, 566-67, 85
S.Ct. 476, 13 L.Ed. 2d 487 (1965). On the
other hand, picketing to protest against
and to influence an elected or other po-
litical official at his city hall or capi-
tal office presents “entirely different
considerations," id.; such activity, if
peaceful, may not be prohibited as it is
not incompatible with such semi-public
facilities' purposes. See Tribe, supra
at 690.
Defendants seek to place foreign
missions in a category with courthouses, a
category of public institutions which are
->
A-73
inappropriate sites for expressive activ-
ity. Defendants apparently rely on the
duty of the United States to protect for-
eign embassies from invasion, insult and
offensive demonstrations, Frend v. United
States, 69 App. D.C. 281, 100 F.2d 691,
cert. denied, 306 U.S. 640, 59 S.Ct. 488,
83 L.Ed. 1040 (1938), and seemingly con-
tend that foreign missions are not proper
targets of expressions by individual citi-
zens who might interfere with the official
conduct of foreign relations. However, no
court has adopted defendants' position,
and Congress has rejected it. Section 112
of Title 18 of the United States Code pro-
hibits, inter alia, demonstrations within
100 feet of a mission with intent to in-
timidate or harass foreign officials.
Subsection (d) of this law states that
(d) Nothing contained in this
section shall be construed or ap-
7%
A-74
plied so as to abridge the exercise
of rights guaranteed under the first
amendment to the Constitution of the
United States.
That subsection was added to prevent the
abridgement of legitimate expression and
assembly near foreign missions. S. Rep.
No. 92-1105, 1972 U.S. Code Cong. & Admin.
News 4316, 4328. Picketing near the Mis-
sion should not be prohibited per se.
In balancing the rights of the plain-
tiff against the rights of Mission person-
nel and other residents, only the "sub-
stantial privacy interests" of the latter
should be taken into account.
The ability of government, consonant
with the Constitution, to shut off
discourse solely to protect others
from hearing it is, in other words,
dependent upon a showing that sub-
stantial privacy interests are being
A-75
invaded in an essentially intoler-
able manner. Any broader view of
this authority would effectively
empower a majority to silence dissi-
dents simply as a matter of personal
predilections.
Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15, 21, 91
S.Ct. 1780, 1786, 29 L.Ed. 2d 284 (1971).
Legislative authority for restrictions
at the Mission
Plaintiff contends that defendants
lack any legislative authority for the re-
strictions enforced by them at the Mission,
and thus that the restrictions are uncon-
stitutional because imposed in the exer-
cise of defendants' unbridled discretion.
In People v. Solomonow, 56 Misc.2d
1050, 291 N.Y.S.2d 145 (Sup. Ct. 1968),
the defendants were acquitted of charges
of disorderly conduct stemming from their
crossing of police barricades on the Mis-
sion block. The court held that the po-
A-76
lice ban on demonstrations was not autho-
rized by any properly drawn statute or
ordinance vesting limited regulatory au-
thority in police officials.
Neither the State nor the City
have regulated the use of the streets
occupied by foreign consulates or
embassies. In the absence of legis-
lation administrative officials may
not exercise prior restraints on the
exercise of First Amendment rights.
+ * + a
- « « Neither City nor State autho-
rizes the police to permanently and
absolutely close a public street to
those persons seeking to exercise
their First Amendment rights.
291 N.Y.S.2d at 149-50.
Defendants rely on Section 145 of
the New York City Charter for the author-
ity to impose the challenged restrictions.
A-77
Subsection a of that section provides in
part:
The police department and force
Shall have the power ...to...
disperse unlawful or dangerous as-
semblages and assemblages which ob-
Struct the free passage of public
Streets, sidewalks, parks and places;
e e « preserve order at... all
public meetings and assemblages .
Plaintiff argues that this provision only
permits the police to preserve order where
the law is being violated, but does not
authorize restrictions on peaceful expres-
Sive activity such as those imposed at the
Mission.
Even if Charter § 435 were held to
give the police a general authority to de-
velop and enforce the practices challenged
here, the breadth of the administrative
A-78
discretion accorded by the charter requires
that the police regulations be subject to
"exacting judicial scrutiny." A Quaker
Action Group v. Morton, 148 U.S. App. D.C.
346, 351, 460 F.2d 854, 859 (1971). That
case involved a challenge to regulations
limiting demonstrations on the White House
sidewalk, and the court refused to defer
to the government's judgment about -Presi-
dential Safety.
"A balancing of First Amendment
freedoms against the requirements of
Presidential safety may be left to
Other agencies in the first instance,
But... the final judgment must
rest with the courts. To enable the
court to reach a reasoned conclusion,
it is incumbent upon any party who
would invoke Presidential safety as
a paramount consideration to provide
the court with the information nec-
A-79
essary to an even-handed decision.
* * * There has been no effort here
to justify the Government's argument
beyond the flat words of the Secret
Service director. First Amendment
. rights are tco precious for sacri-
fice upon such an unsupported altar."
Id. (quoting A Quaker Action Group v.
Hickel, 137 U.S. App. D.C. 176, 183, 421
F.2d 1111, 1118 (1969).
The Supreme Court has held unconsti-
tutional statutes that permit local offi-
cials to regulate expressive conduct such
as parades and street assemblies "in their
: completely uncontrolled discretion." Cox
v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 536, 557, 85 S.Ct.
453, 465, 13 L.Ed. 2d 471 (1965). Admin-
istrative officials must be guided by
"narrow, objective, and definite standards"
in their regulation of the exercise of
first amendment freedoms. Shuttlesworth v.
A-80
Birmingham, 394 U.S. 147, 150, 89 S.Ct.
935, 22 L.Ed. 2d 162 (1969).
The Court more likely will defer to
a legislative judgment about the proper
balance of first amendment freedoms against
competing governmental interests. For ex-
ample, Rockford's prohibition of picketing
that disrupts normal] school activities was
upheld because it "represent[ed] a consid-
ered and specific legislative judgment
that some kinds of expressive activity
should be restricted at a particular time
and place, here in order to protect the
schools." Grayned v. City of Rockford,
supra, 408 U.S. at 121, 92 S.Ct. at 2306.
Similarly, a prohibition against picketing
near a courthouse was upheld because it
represented "a legislative determination
based on experience that such conduct in-
herently threatens the judicial process."
Cox v. Louisiana, supra, 379 U.S. 559, at
A-81
566, 85 S.Ct. 476, at 481.
In addition to the City Charter,
defendants rely on 18 U.S.C. § 112 as au-
thority for their practices on the Mission
block. Section 112 provides in pertinent
part:
$112. Protection of foreign offi-
cials, officials guests, and
internationally protected
persons.
(b) Whoever wilfully -
(1) intimidates, coerces,
threatens, or harasses a foreign of-
ficial or an official guest or ob-
structs a foreign offical in the
performance of his duties;
(2) attempts to intimidate
o © ef OF
(3) . . . within one hundred
feet of any building . .. used
- « « for diplomatic, consular, or
A-82
residential purposes by -
(a) a foreign government, in-
cluding such use as a mission to an
international organization;
congregates with two or more other
persons with intent to violate any
other provision of this section;
shall be fined not more than $500
or imprisoned not more than six
months; or both.
Plaintiff does not dispute the interest of
the United States in protecting diplomatic
officials from the conduct proscribed by
Section 112; it maintains, however, that
Section 112 permits peaceful demonstra-
tions near a foreign mission.
The ban on sound equipment
Plaintiff contends that the police
ban on the use of sound equipment on the
Mission block not only violates the first
amendment, but that it is contrary to the
A-83
Administrative Code of the City of New
York. Section 435-6.0 of the Administra-
tive Code requires that the police commis-
sioner issue a permit upon proper applica-
tion with five days notice except for
specified reasons. The Code provides in
part:
f. Issuance of permit; terms.-
The commissioner shall not deny a
permit for any specific time, loca-
tion or use, to any applicant who
complies with the provisions of this
section, except for one or more of
the reasons specified in subdivision
g hereof or for nonpayment of the
fee prescribed in subdivision h
hereof, or to prevent overlapping in
the granting of permits. ...
g- Special restrictions.-The
commissioner shall not issue any
permit for the use of a sound device
A-84
Or apparatus:
lL. In any location within five
hundred feet of a school, courthouse
or church, during the hours of school,
court or worship, respectively, or
within five hundred feet of any hos-
pital or similar institution;
2. In any location where the
commissioner, upon investigation,
Shall determine that the conditions
of vehicular or pedestrian traffic
Or both are such that the use of
such a device or apparatus will con-
stitute a threat to the safety of
pedestrians or vehicular operators;
3. In any location where the
commissioner, upon investigation,
shall determine that conditions of
overcrowding or of street repair or
other physical conditions are such
that the use of a sound device or
A-85
apparatus will deprive the public of
the right to the safe, comfortable,
convenient and peaceful enjoyment of
any public street, park or place for
street, park or other public pur-
poses, or will constitute a threat
to the safety of pedestrians or ve-
hicle operators;
4. In or on any vehicle or other
device while it is in transit; or
53. Between the hours of ten p.m.
and nine a.m.
Plaintiff contends that none of the
foregoing conditions justifies the blanket
policy of denying all applications for
permits on the Mission block, and defen-
dants have offered no evidence that the
Commissioner made any of the determina-
tions specified in the Code. Plaintiff
argues that the sound ban on the blocks is
thus an arbitrary exercise of defendants'
A-86
discretion exceeding both statutory and
constitutional limits. Defendants reply
that the ban is reasonable and necessary
to preserve the peace of the Mission and
to avoid any obstruction of the work of
the Mission.
Irreparable Injury
Plaintiff contends that the denial
of the requested preliminary relief would
cause it to suffer irreparable injury and
severe hardship. It is clear that if the
restrictions imposed by the defendants are
found to infringe to some degree the first
amendment rights of plaintiff's members,
that infringement will be irreparable in
at least two senses. First, monetary dam-
ages are not likely to be recovered against
the municipal officials, who could raise
good faith defenses to damage actions.
Second, money damages, even if available,
would be inadequate, as timeliness is rec-
A-87
ognized as an important element of expres-
Sive activity. The opportunity to speak
out on a matter of current interest, once
lost, cannot be reclaimed.
Defendants argue that irreparable
injury will not be suffered because the
restrictions imposed on plaintiff are not
complete; it may engage in first amendment
activity anywhere but on the Mission block.
However, the Supreme Court has stated:
It goes without saying that "one is
not to have the exercise of his lib-
erty of expression in appropriate
places abridged on the plea that it
may be exercised in some other place."
Grayned v. City of Rockford, supra, 408
U.S. at 118 n.40, 92 S.Ct. at 2305 (quot-
ing Schneider v. State, 308 U.S. 147, 163,
60 S.Ct. 146, 84 L.Ed. 155 (1939).
Upon due consideration of the facts
and circumstances presented, the Court
A-88
finds that the substantial interest which
the United States has in protecting the
personnel and premises of foreign diplo-
matic missions preclude the grant of pre-
liminary injunctive relief. Rubenstein v.
Murphy, No. 71 Civ. 2291 (S.D.N.Y. May 26,
1971) (Croake, J); Greenberg v. Murphy,
329 F. Supp. 37 (S.D.N.Y¥Y. 1971) (Gurfein,
J.). There is substantial empirical evi-
dence that to allow expanded demonstra-
tions in front of the Soviet Mission would
unduly and unnecessarily impair this in-
terest. The area presently designated for
picketing was selected for reasons which
make sound sense under the special condi-
tions existing on the block; the require-
ment that after dark, demonstrators are
asked to reduce the noise level is entire-
ly reasonable; the object of the police to
accommodate both the demonstrators' rights
of assembly and the right of nondemonstra-
A-89
tors to peaceful and unobstructed passage
consistent with safety meets fundamental
concerns fairly. Basically the whole sub-
ject matter is one of degree and judgment
and no better yardsticks than the ones
employed are presented or apparent.
The restrictions complained of apply
to demonstrators and amplified noise imme-
diately in front of the Soviet Mission.
There are no similar limitations in the
overflow adjacent areas. The case for ir-
reparable harm has not been made out at
this time. Indeed the character of this
Street and the pattern of usual activity
on it srongly suggest that the restric-
tions herein are reasonable both as to
numbers of demonstrators and the use of
amplified sound equipment in the immediate
area.
Balancing the interests at stake
herein, the police restrictions upon pick-
r
A-90
eting and amplified noise in the immediate
vicinity of the Soviet Mission clearly
pass constitutional muster, certainly so
far as concerns a demand for provisional
relief. The restrictions at issue do not
unduly or unnecessarily abridge the exer-
cise of the plaintiff's members' liberty
of expression in this area. They are rea-
sonably narrow enough so as to afford the
right of demontrators to express their
views in number and noise sufficient to
Carry their message without unreasonable
impediment. The numerical restrictions
have been sufficiently time-tested over
the years, without any apparent swell of
complaint thereof and it may be reasonably
inferred that no really undue restraints
are felt by those inclined to demonstrate
for their causes against the Mission.
This conclusion does not suggest in any
way that the motivation of the plaintiff
#%
A-91
and its members is other than laudable and
their intentions peaceful.
Accordingly the plaintiff's motion
for a preliminary injunction is denied.
The application of the United States for
leave to appear as an amicus curiae in
this action, because of the governmental
interest herein, is granted.
The foregoing shall constitute the
findings of fact and conclusions of law
required by Federal Rule of Civil Proce-
dure 52(a).
SO ORDERED.
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Appendix C
The United States Constitution
AMENDMENT I [1791].
Congress shall make no law respect-
ing an establishment of religion, or pro-
hibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press; or the right of the people peace-
ably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
AMENDMENT XIV [1868].
SECTION 1. All persons born or natural-
ized in the United States and subject to
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of
the United States and of the State wherein
they reside. No State shall make or en-
force any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of
the United States; nor shall any State
A-93
deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor
deny to any person within its jurisdictien
the equal protection of the laws.
-,
A-94
Appendix D
18 U.8.C..3 112
§ 112. Protection of foreign officials,
offi ial guests, and internationally pro-
tected persons
(a) Whoever assaults, strikes, wounds,
imprisons, or offers violence to a foreign
official, official guest, or internation-
ally protected person or makes any other
violent attack upon the person or liberty
of such person, or if likely to endanger
his person or liberty, makes a violent
attack upon his official premises, pri-
vate accommodation, or means of transport
Or attempts to commit any of the foregoing
shall be fined not more than $5,000 or
imprisoned not more than three years, or
both. Whoever in the commission of any
such act uses a deadly or dangerous weapon
shall be fined not more than $10,000 or
A-95
imprisoned not more than ten years, or
both.
(b) Whoever willfully--
(1) intimidates, coerces, threatens,
or harasses a foreign official or an
official guest or obstructs a foreign
official in the performance of his
duties;
(2) attempts to intimidate, coerce,
threaten, or harass a foreign official
Or an official guest or obstruct a for-
eign official in the performance of his
duties; or
(3) within the United States but
outside the District of Columbia and
within one hundred feet of any building
Or premises in whole or in part owned,
used, or occupied for official business
or for diplomatic, consular, or resi-
dential purposes by--
A-96
(A) a foreign government, in-
cluding such use as a mission to an
international organization;
(B) an international organization;
(C) a foreign official; or
(D) an official guest;
congregates with two or more other per-
sons with intent to violate any other
provision of this section;
shall be fined not more than $500 or inm-
prisoned not more than six months, or both.
(c) For the purpose of this section
"foreign government", "foreign official",
"internationally protected person", "in-
ternational organization", and “official
guest” shall have the same meanings as
those provided in section 1116(b) of this
title.
(d) Nothing contained in this section
shall be construed or applied so as to
abridge the exercise of rights guaranteed
A-97
under the first amendment to the Consti-
tution of the United States.
(e) If the victim of an offense under
subsection (a) is an internationally pro-
tected person, the United States may exer-
cise jurisdiction over the offense if the
alleged offender is present within the
United States, irrespective of the place
where the offense was committed or the
nationality of the victim or the alleged
offender. As used in this subsection, the
United States includes all areas under the
jurisdiction of the United States includ-
ing any of the places within the provi-
sions of sections 5 and 7 of this title
and section 101(34) of the Federal Avia-
tion Act of 1958, as amended (49 U.S.C.
1301(34)).
(£) In the course of enforcement of
subsection (a) and any other sections pro-
hibiting a conspiracy or attempt to vio-
A-98
late subsection (a), the Attorney General
may request assistance from any Federal,
State, or local agency, including the Army,
Navy, and Air Force, any statute, rule, or
regulation to the contrary, notwithstand-
ing.
As amended Oct. 24, 1972. Pub. L. 92-539,
Title III, § 301, 86 Stat. 1072; Oct. 8,
1976, Pub. L. 94-467, § 5, 90 Stat. 1999;
Nov. 9, 1977, Pub. L. 95-163, § 17(b) (1),
91 Stat. 1286; Oct. 24, 1978, Pub. L.
95-504, §$ 2(b), 92.
A-99
Appendix E
Administrative Code of the
City of New York § 435-6.0
§ 435-6.0* Regulation of sound devices
Or apparatus.-a. Legislative declaration.
It is hereby declared that the use or op-
eration of any radio device or apparatus
Or any devise or apparatus for the ampli-
fication of sounds from any radio, phono-
*Section 3 of L. L. 1948, Nox 64, reads
as follows:
33. Construction Clause.-If any part
of this local law or the application there-
of to any person or circumstances, shall
for any reason be adjudged by a court of
competent jurisdiction to be unconstitu-
tional or invalid, such judgment shall not
affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
of this local law or the application there-
of to other perons and circumstances, but
shall be confined in its operation to the
section, subdivision, sentence or part of
the local law and the persons and the cir-
cumstances directly involved in the con-
troversy in which such judgment shall have
been rendered. It is hereby declared to
be the intent of the Council that this
local law would have been adopted if such
invalid section, provision, subdivision,
sentence or part of the local law or ap-
plication not been included.
A-100
graph or other sound-making or sound-pro-
ducing device, or any device or apparatus
for the reproduction or amplification of
the human voice or other sounds, in front
of or outside of any building, place or
premises, or in or through any window,
doorway or opening of such building, place
Or premises, abutting or adjacent to a
public street, park or place, or in or
upon any vehicle operated, standing or
being in or upon any public street, park
or place, where the sounds therefrom may
be heard upon any public street, park or
place, or from any stand, platform or
other structure, or from any airplane or
other device used for flying, flying over
the city, or on a boat or on the waters
within the jurisdiction of the city, or
anywhere on or in the public streets,
parks or places, is detrimental to the
health, welfare and safety of the inhabi-
-*
A-101
tants of the city, in that such use or op-
eration diverts the attention of pedestri-
ans and vehicle operators in the public
streets, parks and places, thus increasing
traffic hazards and causing injury to life
and limb. It is hereby further declared
that such use or operation disturbs the
public peace and comfort and the peaceful
enjoyment by the people of their rights to
use the public streets, parks and places
for street, park and other public purposes
and disturbs the peace, quiet and comfort
of the neighboring inhabit: ats. Therefore,
it is hereby declared as a matter of leg-
islative determination that the prohibi-
tion of such use or operation for commer-
cial or business advertising purposes and
the proper regulation of such use and
operation for all other purposes is essen-
tial to protect the health, welfare and
safety of the inhabitants of the city, to
#%
*?
A-102
secure the health, safety, comfort, conve-
nience, and peaceful enjoyment by the peo-
ple of their rights to use the public
streets, parks and places for street, park
and public purposes and to secure the
peace, quiet and comfort of the city's in-
habitants. It is hereby further declared
as a matter of legislative determination
that the expense of supervising and regu-
lating the use and operation of such sound
devices and apparatus for purposes other
than commercial and business advertising
purposes should be borne by the persons
using or operating such devices and appa-
ratus and that the requirement of a nomi-
nal fee for the issuance of a permit for
such use and operation as hereinafter pre-
scribed is intended to defray the expenses
of regulating such use or operation for
the health, welfare and safety of all the
people.
A-103
b. Definitions. As used in this sec-
tion:
1. The term "sound device or appa-
ratus" shall mean any radio device or
apparatus, or any device or apparatus
for the amplification of any sounds
from any radio, phonograph, or other
sound-making or sound-producing device,
Or any device or apparatus for the re-
production or amplification of the
human voice or other sounds;
2. The phrase “to use or operate
any sound device or apparatus in, on,
near or adjacent to any public street,
park or place," shall mean to use or
operate or cause to be used or operated
any sound device or apparatus in front
or outside of any building, place or
premises, or in or through any window,
doorway or opening of such building,
**%
A-104
place or premises, abutting on or adja-
cent to a public street, park or place,
or in or upon any vehicle operated,
standing or being in or on any public
street, park or place, where the sounds
therefrom may be heard upon any public
street, park or place, or from any
stand, platform or other structure, or
from any other airplane or other device
used for flying, flying over the city,
Or on a boat or on the waters within
the jurisdiction of the city, or any-
where on the public streets, parks or
places.
c. Use and operation of the sound
devices and apparatus for commercial and
business advertising purposes. It shall
be unlawful for any person to use or oper-
ate any sound device or apparatus in, on,
near or adjacent to any public street,
A-105
park or place, for commercial and business
advertising purpose,
d. Use and operation of sound devices
and apparatus for other than commercial
and business advertising purposes; permit
required. It shall be unlawful for any
person to use or operate any sound device
Or apparatus, in, on, near or adjacent to
any public street, park or place, unless
he shall have first obtained a permit to
be issued by the commissioner in the man-
ner hereinafter prescribed and unless he
shall comply with the provisions of this
section and the terms and conditions pre-
scribed in such permit.
e. Applications.-Each applicant for a
permit to use or operate a sound device or
apparatus in, on, near or adjacent to any
public street, park or place shall file a
written application with the commissioner,
at the police precinct covering the area
7%
A-106
in which such sound device or apparatus is
to be used or operated, at least five days
prior to the date upon which such sound
device or apparatus is to be used or oper-
ated. Such application shall describe the
specific location in which such sound de-
vice or apparatus is proposed to be used
Or operated, the day and the hour or hours
during which it is proposed to be used or
operated, the volume of sound which is
proposed to be used measured by decibels
or by any other efficient method of mea-
suring sound, and such other pertinent
information as the commissioner may deem
necessary to enable him to carry out the
provisions of this section.
f. Issuance of permit; terms.-The com-
missioner shall not deny a permit for any
specific time, location or use, to any
applicant who complies with the provisions
of this section, except for one or more of
A-107
the reasons specified in subdivision g
hereof or for non-payment of the fee pre-
scribed in subdivision h hereof, or to
prevent over-lapping in the granting of
permits. Each permit issued pursuant to
this section shall describe the specific
location in which such sound device or
apparatus may be used or operated there-
under, the exact period of time for which
such apparatus or device may be operated
in such location, the maximum volume of
sound which may be employed in such use or
operation and such other terms and condi-
tions as may be necessary, for the purpose
of securing the health, safety, comfort,
convenience and peaceful enjoyment by the
people of their right to use the public
Streets, parks or places for street, park
Or other public purposes, protecting the
health, welfare and safety of the inhabi-
tants of the city, and securing the peace,
A-108
quiet and comfort of the neighboring in-
habitants.
g. Special restrictions.-The commis-
sioner shall not issue any permit for the
use of a sound device or apparatus:
1. In any location within five
hundred feet of a school, courthouse or
church, during the hours of school,
court or worship, respectively, or
within five hundred feet of any hospi-
tal or similar institution;
2. In any location where the com-
missioner, upon investigation, shall
determine that the conditions of vehi-
cular or pedestrian traffic or both are
such that the use of such a device or
apparatus will constitute a threat to
the safety of pedestrians or vehicular
operators;
3. In any location where the com-
missioner, upon investigation, shall
°%
A-109
determine that conditions of overcrowd-
ing or of street repair or other physi-
cal conditions are such that the use of
a sound device or apparatus will de-
prive the public of the right to the
safe, comfortable, convenient and peace-
ful enjoyment of any public street,
park or place for street, park or other
public purposes, or will constitute a
threat to the safety of pedestrians or
vehicle operators;
4. In or on any vehicle or other
device while it is in transit; or
5. Between the hours of ten p.m.
and nine a.m.
h. Fees.-Each applicant for a permit
issued under the provisions of this sec-
tion shall pay a fee of five dollars for
the use of each sound device or apparatus
for each day, provided, however, that per-
mits for the use of such sound devices or
A-110
apparatus shall be issued to any bureau,
commission, board or department of the
United States government, the state of New
York, and the city of New York, without
fee.
i. The provisions of this section
shall not apply to the use or operation of
any sound device or apparatus by any
church or synagogue on or within its own
premises, in connection with the religious
rites or ceremonies of such church or
synagogue.
j- Violations.-Any person who shall
violate any provision of this section,
upon conviction thereof, shall be punished
by a fine of not more than twenty-five
dollars or imprisonment for thirty days,
or both.
k. Rules and regulations.-The commis-
sioner shall have the power to make such
rules and regulations as may be necessary
A-11l1
to carry out the provisions of
tion.
(As amended by L. L. 1939, No.
ber 20; as renumbered by L. L.
50, October 29; and as amended
1948, No. 64, October l.)
this sec-
172, Novem-
1942, No.
by L. L.
A-112
Appendix F
New York City Charter § 435
§ 435. Department; duties.-a. The
police department and force shall have the
power and it shall be their duty to pre-
serve the public peace, prevent crime,
detect and arrest offenders, suppress
riots, mobs and insurrections, disperse
unlawful or dangerous assemblages and as-
semblages which obstruct the free passage
of public streets, sidewalks, parks and
places; protect the rights of persons and
property, guard the public health, pre-
serve order at elections and all public
meetings and assemblages; subject to the
provisions of law and the rules and regu-
lations of the commissioner of traffic,
regulate, direct, control and restrict the
movement of vehicular and pedestrian traf-
fic for the facilitation of traffic and
the convenience of the public as well as
A-113
the proper protection of human life and
health; remove all nuisances in the public
streets, parks and places; arrest all
Street mendicants and beggars; provide
proper police attendance at fires; inspect
and observe all places of public amusement,
all places of business having excise or
other licenses to carry on any business;
enforce and prevent the violation of all
laws and ordinances in force in the city;
and for these purposes to arrest all per-
sons guilty of violating any law or ordi-
nance for the suppression or punishment of
crimes or offenses.
b. Except as specifically provided
herein, nothing contained in this section
Shall be deemed to limit, restrict, divest,
transfer or supersede the powers or the
jurisdiction of any agency as defined in
section eleven hundred fifty of the char-
ter.
A-114
c. Nothing contained in this charter
Shall be deemed to grant the department of
traffic cognizance or control over the
government, administration, disposition
and discipline of the police department or
police force.
(Derived from former § 435 as amended by
L. L. 1949, No. 2; as amended by L. L.
19590, No. 27.)
A-115
Appendix G
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