, do not justify penalizing the speaker by depriving him of the platform or by punishing him for his conduct. He made derogatory remarks about President Truman, the American Legion, and local political officials; endeavored to arouse the Negroes against the whites; and urged that Negroes rise up in arms and fight for equal rights. Their duty was to protect petitioner's right to talk, even to the extent of arresting the man who threatened to interfere. No. ; the defendant, as indicated above, disrupted pedestrian and vehicular traffic on the sidewalk and street, and, with intent to provoke a breach of the peace and with knowledge of the consequences, so inflamed and agitated a mixed audience of sympathizers and opponents that, in the judgment of the police officers present, a clear danger of disorder and violence was threatened. We said at page 308 U. S. 162, "There are obvious methods of preventing littering. A sufficiently clear and present danger arose when the crowd threatened violence and the speaker refused to stop his speech in response to the police requests. 322 [340 I am unable to find anything in the record to support this statement unless the unsworn arguments of the assistant district attorney are accepted as evidence. U.S. 678 Compare Great Northern R. Co. v. Washington, supra, with Taylor v. Mississippi, 319 U. S. 583, 319 U. S. 585-586. Supreme Court of United States. During all this time, the crowd was pressing closer around petitioner and the officer. The courts below recognized petitioner's right to hold a street meeting at this locality, to make use of loud-speaking equipment in giving his speech, and to make derogatory remarks concerning public officials and the American Legion. But still more has been lost today. O . In the present case as well, the threat of one person to assault a speaker does not justify suppression of the speech. As with other First Amendment cases from the mid-20th century, the Court had a somewhat sensitive understanding of what types of speech were likely to lead to imminent violence. Nor did the judge treat the lawful meeting as unlawful because a crowd congregated on the sidewalk. Petitioner was entitled to know why he should cease doing a lawful act. I understand that people in authoritarian countries must obey arbitrary orders. The end result of the affirmance here is to approve a simple and readily available technique by which cities and states can with impunity subject all speeches, political or otherwise, on streets or elsewhere, to the supervision and censorship of the local police. Footnote 3 There was no charge that any city or state law prohibited such a meeting at the place or time it was held. In all, the officer had asked petitioner to get down off the box three times over a space of four or five minutes. When a speaker mounts a platform it is not unusual to find him resorting to exaggeration, to vilification of ideas and men, to the making of false charges. But after Feiner has been speaking about 20 minutes, a man said to the police officers, "If you don't get that son of a bitch off, I will go over and get him off there myself." [340 [Footnote 2/5] One man who heard this told the officers that, if they did not take that "S . . The officer next "told" petitioner to get down, but he did not. 391, 400, 402, 91 N. E. 2d 316, 319, 321. III, c. 79, § 15. Copyright © 2021, Thomson Reuters. the police is to protect these lawful gatherings so that the speakers may exercise their constitutional rights. Although it is unnecessary for me to reach the question of whether the trial below met procedural due process standards, I cannot agree with the opinion of the Court that "Petitioner was accorded a full, fair trial." Hague v. C. I. O., Otherwise, review by this Court would fail of its purpose in safeguarding constitutional rights. They also said, and the court believed, that they heard and saw "angry mutterings," "pushing," "shoving and milling around" and "restlessness." (b) The police cannot be used as an instrument for the suppression of unpopular views; but, when a speaker passes the bounds of argument or persuasion and undertakes incitement to riot, the police are not powerless to prevent a breach of the peace. That petitioner and the philosophy he espoused were objects of local antagonism appears clearly from the printed record in this case. One of them first "asked" petitioner to get off the box, but petitioner continued urging his audience to attend Rogge's speech. attempting to use said walk, and being forced into the highway adjacent to the place in question, and prevent injury to the public generally.". . PETITIONER:Irving Feiner. Petitioner had been speaking for over a half hour. [340 To whom he reported or what was said does not appear in the record, but after returning from the call, he and another policeman started through the crowd toward petitioner. The conviction was upheld by two New York State appellate courts, and on Jan. 15, 1951, the United States Supreme Court followed suit by a 6-to-3 vote. Footnote 1 Even accepting every "finding of fact" below, I think this conviction makes a mockery of the free speech guarantees of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Consequently, any discussion of disrupted pedestrian and vehicular traffic, while suggestive coloration, is immaterial under the charge and conviction here. In all, the officer had asked petitioner to get down off the box three times over a space of four or five minutes. See note 11, infra. MR. CHIEF JUSTICE VINSON delivered the opinion of the Court. According to the officers' testimony, the crowd was restless but there is There is an alarming similarity between the power thus possessed by the Syracuse (or any other) police and that possessed by English officials under an act passed by Parliament in 1795. [Footnote 2/9] Instead, they shirked that duty and acted only to suppress the right to speak. Footnote 5 Learn more about FindLaw’s newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. 1 This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Paragraph C is particularly pertinent here: "By ignoring and refusing to heed and obey reasonable police orders issued at the time and place mentioned in the Information to regulate and control said crowd and to prevent a breach or breaches of the peace and to prevent injury to pedestrians, attempting to use said walk, and being forced into the highway adjacent to the place in question, and prevent injury to the public generally. Any person who, with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, or whereby a breach of the peace may be occasioned, commits any of the following acts shall be deemed to have committed the offense of disorderly conduct: ", "1. In this connection, petitioner used derogatory but not profane language with reference to the city authorities, President Truman and the American Legion. 319 There are obvious available alternative methods of preserving public order. Threats by one member of the audience to insult the speaker are insufficient evidence on which to base a belief that a riot is about to happen. Feiner v. New York Argued: Oct. 17, 1950. The record before us convinces me that petitioner, a young college student, has been sentenced to the penitentiary for the unpopular views he expressed [Footnote 2/1] on matters of public interest while lawfully making a street corner, speech in Syracuse, New York. The record before us convinces me that petitioner, a young college student, has been sentenced to the penitentiary for the unpopular views he expressed1 on matters of public interest while lawfully making a street-corner speech in Syracuse, New York.2 Today's decision, however, indicates that we must blind ourselves to this fact because the trial judge fully accepted the … 332 With a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of New York and affirmed Feiner's conviction. Because of the feeling that existed in the crowd both for and against the speaker, the officers finally "stepped in to prevent it from resulting in a fight." Reliable witnesses swore that petitioner's statement was that his listeners "could rise up and fight for their rights by going arm in arm to the Hotel Syracuse, black and white alike, to hear John Rogge." But those extravagances, as we emphasized in Cantwell v. Connecticut, Feiner, a university student, made a speech on a street corner in Syracuse, New York, on March 8, 1949. ; Akins v. Texas, The decision below is affirmed, p. 321. ] The trial judge framed the question for decision as follows: "The question here, is what was said and what was done? He stood on a large box and spoke over loudspeakers mounted on a car. [Footnote 2/6], The Court's opinion apparently rests on this reasoning: the policeman, under the circumstances detailed, could reasonably conclude that serious fighting or even riot was imminent; therefore, he could stop petitioner's speech to prevent a breach of peace; accordingly, it was "disorderly conduct" for petitioner to continue speaking in disobedience of the officer's request. Dissenting Opinions Justices Hugo Black and William O. Douglas both disagreed with the majority decision and thought that it was violating Feiner's First Amendment rights to arrest him. Feiner v. New York [1] established the “heckler’s veto,” a concept that allows a small group or individual to silence a speaker. On these facts, petitioner was specifically charged with violation of § 722 of the Penal Law of New York, Mc.K.Consol.Laws, c. 40, the pertinent part of which is set out in the margin. See Lovell v. City of Griffin, 303 U. S. 444; Hague v. CIO, 307 U. S. 496; Cantwell v. Connecticut, supra; Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U. S. 105; Saia v. New York, 334 U. S. 558. One man who heard this told the officers that if they did not take that "S . It is one thing to say that the police cannot be used as an instrument for the suppression of unpopular views, and another to say that, when as here the speaker passes the bounds of argument or persuasion and undertakes incitement to riot, they are powerless to prevent a breach of the peace. Rather, it was the reaction which it actually engendered. One of them first "asked" petitioner to get off the box, but petitioner continued urging his audience to attend Rogge's speech. Police censorship has all the vices of the censorship from city halls which we have repeatedly struck down. The court approved the view that freedom of speech should be denied those who pit "class against class . In this case I would reverse the conviction, thereby adhering to the great principles of the First and Fourteenth Amendments as announced for this Court in 1940 by Mr. Justice Roberts: MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS, with whom MR. JUSTICE MINTON concurs, dissenting. O . A crowd of about 80 people attended an open-air meeting where Feiner gave a speech. But those extravagances, as we emphasized in Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U. S. 296, do not justify penalizing the speaker by depriving him of the platform or by punishing him for his conduct. The officer first replied that the charge was "unlawful assembly" but later changed the ground to "disorderly conduct." No clear and present danger could be inferred from mere disagreements and objections by members of a crowd toward a speaker. Title U.S. Reports: Feiner v. New York, 340 U.S. 315 (1951). ; Fay v. New York, Amongst these is the punishment of those who actually throw papers on the streets.". Acts in such a manner as to annoy, disturb, interfere with, obstruct, or be offensive to others;", "3. 295, 1951 U.S. Brief Fact Summary. In that year, Justices of the Peace were authorized to arrest persons who spoke in a manner which could be characterized as "inciting and stirring up the People to Hatred or Contempt . The purpose of the speech was to publicize a meeting of the. 300 of the King or the Government. How videos can drive stronger virtual sales; April 9, 2021. . (1950), petitioner having claimed that the conviction is in violation of his right of free speech under the Fourteenth Amendment. [340 Even accepting every "finding of fact" below, I think this conviction makes a mockery of the free speech guarantees of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. U.S. 573, 591 . See 340 U.S. 315fn2/11|>note 11, infra. 303 Although the officer had thus twice requested petitioner to stop over the course of several minutes, petitioner not only ignored him, but continued talking. His decision indicated generally that he believed the state's witnesses, and his summation of the testimony was used by the two New York courts on review in stating the facts. No. This Court has used varying phraseology in stating the circumstances under which it would review state court findings of fact, but it has not hesitated to make such review when necessary to protect a federal right. . Footnote 2 U.S. 398, 401 Nor does one isolated threat to assault the speaker forebode disorder. But this testimony was so patently inadmissible that it was excluded by speech in Syracuse, New York. III, c. 79, 15. The purpose of the speech was to publicize a meeting of the [*330] Young Progressives of America to be held that evening. After observing the situation for some time without interference, police officers, in order to prevent a fight, thrice requested petitioner to get off the box and stop speaking. [340 making or the content of his speech. This Court respects, as it must, the interest of the community in maintaining peace and order on its streets. Schneider v. State, 308 U. S. 147, 308 U. S. 160 (1939); Kovacs v. Cooper, 336 U. S. 77, 336 U. S. 82 (1949). Justia makes no guarantees or warranties that the annotations are accurate or reflect the current state of law, and no annotation is intended to be, nor should it be construed as, legal advice. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. Petitioner made an inflammatory speech to a mixed crowd of 75 or 80 Negroes and white people on a city street. Our appraisal of the facts is therefore based upon the uncontroverted facts and, where controversy exists, upon that testimony which the trial judge did reasonably conclude to be true. U.S. 296 Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U. S. 296, 310 U. S. 310. 300 N. Y. Footnote 8 One high function of. ] Today the Court characterizes petitioner's speech as one designed to incite riot and approves suppression of his views. and religion against religion." B . Dissenting Opinions Justices Hugo Black and William O. Douglas both disagreed with the majority decision and thought that it was violating Feiner's First Amendment rights to arrest him. Petitioner, The Court's opinion apparently rests on this reasoning: The policeman, under the circumstances detailed, could reasonably conclude that serious fighting or even riot was imminent; therefore he could stop petitioner's speech to prevent a breach of peace; accordingly, it was "disorderly conduct" for petitioner to continue speaking in disobedience of the officer's request. Moreover, assuming that the "facts" did indicate a critical situation, I reject the implication of the Court's opinion that the police had no obligation to protect petitioner's constitutional right to talk. The principal prosecution witness testified that, after he asked Feiner to get down from the box, Feiner merely "kept telling [the audience] to go to the Syracuse Hotel and hear John Rogge." ; Great Northern R. Co. v. Washington, The following are the only excerpts revealed by the record: But after Feiner had been speaking about 20 minutes a man said to the police officers, "If you don't get that son of a bitch off, I will go over and get him off there myself." We are not faced here with blind condonation by a state court of arbitrary police action. 6 virtual presentation tools that’ll engage your audience; April 7, 2021 340 Decided January 15, 1951. That is the testimony of the police. The purpose of the speech was to publicize a meeting of the [340 U.S. 315, 330] Young Progressives of America to be held that evening. 6. Their duty was to protect petitioner's right to talk, even to the extent of arresting the man who threatened to interfere. I had hoped that there was no such duty in the United States. One of these officers went to the scene immediately, the other arriving some twelve minutes later. The trial judge heard testimony supporting and contradicting the judgment of the police officers that a clear danger of disorder was threatened. 332 U.S. 496 Considering only the evidence which the state courts appear to have accepted, the pertinent "facts" are: Syracuse city authorities granted a permit for O. John Rogge, a former Assistant Attorney General, to speak in a public school building on March 8, 1948, on the subject of racial discrimination and civil liberties. They also said, and the court believed, that they heard and saw "angry mutterings," "pushing," "shoving and milling around" and "restlessness." When there is clear and present danger of a riot, then the police may restrict speech. Here, the trial judge, who heard the case without a jury, rendered an oral decision at the end of the trial, setting forth his determination of the facts upon which he found the petitioner guilty. He made derogatory remarks about President Truman, the American Legion, and local political officials, endeavored to arouse the Negroes against the whites, and urged that Negroes rise up in arms and fight for equal rights. It shows an unsympathetic audience and the threat of one man to haul the speaker from the stage. ... Kunz v. People of State of New York, 340 U.S. 290, 71 S.Ct. They observed the situation from the opposite side of the street, noting that some pedestrians were forced to walk in the street to avoid the crowd. Some of Feiner's remarks encouraged African-Americans to take up weapons and fight for their rights against white people. Evidence showed that it was customary to hold public gatherings on that same corner every Friday night, and the trial judge who convicted petitioner admitted that he understood the meeting was a lawful one. Prohibited such a mixed crowd of about 75 people, colored and white U.S. 268 71... 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