''Gregory v. Chicago'', 394 U.S. 111 (1969), was a

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

case in which the Court overturned the

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...

charges against

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...

and others for peaceful demonstrations in Chicago.

Background

Social activists, including comedian

, protested against school segregation in Chicago, Illinois. Twelve years earlier, in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

'', the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled

school segregation School segregation is the division of people into different groups in the education system by characteristics such as race, religion, or ethnicity. See also *'' D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic'' *School segregation in the United States *Single ...

unconstitutional Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...

. The protesters marched from Chicago's city hall to the mayor's residence. After the march concluded, bystanders began to act unruly, and police asked the protesters to disperse. The protesters did not disperse and were consequently arrested, and subsequently convicted by a jury, of violating Chicago's disorderly conduct ordinance. The protesters appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court. That court upheld their conviction, holding that the protesters' refusal to obey the police order justified the convictions. Aided by the ACLU, the protesters appealed to the US Supreme Court.

Opinion of the Court

The US Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, overturned the conviction for several reasons: * "Petitioners were denied due process since there was no evidence to support their convictions" * "The convictions were for demonstrating, not for refusing to obey police orders." * "The trial judge's charge allowed the jury to convict for acts protected by the First Amendment. ''Stromberg v. California''" Justice Hugo Black, in a concurring opinion, argued that arresting demonstrators as a consequence of unruly behavior of bystanders would amount to a " heckler's veto." The Heckler's Veto: A Reexamination
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References

External links

* {{US1stAmendment

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

1969 in United States case law American Civil Liberties Union litigation United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court