U.S. Government and Civics / Unit 4: Civil Liberties and the Bill of Rights
4.6 Assembly, Petition and Limits on Liberty
Notes
Liberties must be balanced against order, safety and the rights of others.
- Assembly and petition: people may gather peacefully and ask the government to change policies.
- Government may set time, place and manner restrictions if they are content neutral (they apply no matter what the message is), such as requiring permits for large parades or limiting noise at night.
- Government may not ban a protest because officials dislike its message.
- ***Snyder v. Phelps* (2011)**: offensive picketing on a public issue near a funeral, held on public land, was protected speech.
- In wartime, courts have sometimes allowed more limits on liberty, as in Schenck.
- Strict scrutiny: a law that restricts a fundamental right must serve a compelling government interest and be narrowly tailored.
- Example: a city may require all marches to end by 10 p.m., but may not deny a permit only to groups with unpopular views.
Practice
A city requires a permit for any parade on Main Street, no matter what the parade is about. This is:
Neutral rules on time, place and manner are generally allowed.
A town gives permits to every group except one whose message the mayor dislikes. This most likely violates:
Government may not discriminate based on a speaker's viewpoint.
Under strict scrutiny, a law limiting a fundamental right must:
Strict scrutiny is the highest level of judicial review for laws.
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