Forum Post: Know your rights: It's not about freedom of speech, it's about freedom of assembly
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 15, 2011, 10:37 p.m. EST by luckyzach
(0)
from Beverly, MA
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
what's confusing is that the court has the focus on the wrong issue. The camp is not protected under freedom of speech but it most certainly is under freed to assemble. Under all interpretations, the freedom to assemble applies to any and all publicly ACCESSIBLE spaces and the fact that Zuccotti is privately managed does not deter that.
By zoning laws under civil codes and statutes set forth regarding public spaces for development and management by private enterprise, if the public space in question is accessibly and available for entry and use by the public on at least one side (i.e. not a private courtyard in a building complex) then public freedoms such as the right to assemble apply. The right to assemble does include all forms of assembly whether long term camped out or short term rally and aggregate assembly does not require permits whereas organized gathering does. Occupy is an aggregate assembly just to clarify.
If the owners/managers of the park hope to keep their zoning relaxation for their developments granted in exchange for the generation and maintenance of public spaces such as Zuccotti Park, they have to be prepared to uphold public rights granted by zoning laws and civil regulations.
As for the protests, yes there are a myriad of things they could have done to make local government and the police their allies but these protests will happen with or without Zuccotti because there is an inequality problem brought on by the recession. The rich have legally stolen wealth from everyone else through a combination of the generation of complex financial technology and the withholding of financial knowledge to the public. The legality of it has been brought on by the elimination of campaign finance reform laws and legal regulations that have allowed lobbyist interests to undermine market regulations that mandated financial ethics. With an unrepresentative government essentially being paid off to remove the American safety net and legalize the growth of the portfolios of the rich without the generation of new market value, jobs are being destroyed, risks are not being taken to develop new innovations, and there is no market incentive for anyone to reinvest in innovation and development. Until the government shakes off the lobbyists or until Wall St. grows a set of ethics again, the protests will continue.
Interesting and possibly helpful. Anyone with some legal training care to cite some precedent that addresses unlawful assembly issues?
In Adderley v. Florida, 385 U.S. 39, 87 S. Ct. 242, 17 L. Ed. 2d 149 (1966), however, the Court also made clear that assemblies are not lawful merely because they involve a political issue. In this case Harriet L. Adderley and other college students had protested the arrest of Civil Rights protesters by blocking a jail driveway. When the students ignored requests to leave the area, they were arrested and charged with Trespass. The Court held that "[t]he State, no less than a private owner of property, has power to preserve the property under its control for the use to which it is lawfully dedicated."
"In general, a unit of government may reasonably regulate parades, processions, and large public gatherings by requiring a license. Licenses cannot, however, be denied based on the political message of the group. Persons who refuse to obtain a license and hold their march or gathering may be charged with unlawful assembly."
"The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees Freedom of Speech. This guarantee generally safeguards the right of individuals to express themselves without governmental restraint. Nevertheless, the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment is not absolute. It has never been interpreted to guarantee all forms of speech without any restraint whatsoever. Instead, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that state and federal governments may place reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner of individual expression. Time, place, and manner (TPM) restrictions accommodate public convenience and promote order by regulating traffic flow, preserving property interests, conserving the environment, and protecting the administration of justice."
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Time,+Place,+and+Manner+Restrictions
Unlawful Assembly- A meeting of three or more individuals to commit a crime OR carry out a lawful or unlawful purpose in a manner likely to imperil the peace and tranquillity of the neighborhood.
The FIRST AMENDMENT to the U.S. Constitution guarantees individuals the right of freedom of assembly. Under the COMMON LAW and modern statutes, however, the meeting of three or more persons may constitute an unlawful assembly if the persons have an illegal purpose OR if their meeting will breach the public peace of the community. If they actually execute their purpose, they have committed the criminal offense of riot.
http://law.jrank.org/pages/11014/Unlawful-Assembly.html#ixzz1dqHojgom
camping out, occupying a place for months on end is not assembling. This is private property and you are infringing on the rights of others.
Yer free to assemble. Yer not free to assemble tents or yurts on any site u wish. If we did the best spots would already b occupied by now
"Occupy is an aggregate assembly just to clarify."
Where in the Constitution does it state the people have the right to "aggregate-ly assemble"?
Um. Not. Apparently you don't know the civil codes and statutes set forth regarding public spaces in New York.
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/rules_and_regulations/rr_1-04.html
Unlawful camping No person shall engage in camping, or erect or maintain a tent, shelter, or camp in any park without a permit.
Disorderly Behavior It shall be a violation of these rules to engage in disorderly behavior in a park. A person in any park shall be guilty of disorderly behavior who:
Urination and Defecation in Parks No person shall urinate or defecate in any Park, or in or upon any park building, monument or structure, except in a facility which is specifically designed for such purpose.
Marijuana; Controlled Substances No person shall bring, possess, distribute, sell, solicit or consume marijuana or any controlled substance, as defined in §220.00 of the New York State Penal Law, in any park, playground, beach, swimming pool, or other park property or facility.
Zucotti is a privately owned park. It did not come under the jurisdiction of the nycgovparks. I have not been at Zuccotti Park,however I am sure #ows was able to abide by the nycgov standards on any given day.
New York City police and Brookfield were acting within the rules that govern privately owned public spaces when they evicted the protesters, Real Estate Board of New York President Steven Spinola said.
“The whole purpose of the plaza is for it to be available to the general public for their use,” Spinola said. “If a park is no longer available because of one particular group, then there would be a violation taking place.”
“The court’s ruling vindicates our position that First Amendment rights do not include the right to endanger the public or infringe on the rights of others by taking over a public space,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said today in an e-mailed statement. “Zuccotti Park will remain open to all who want to enjoy it, as long as they abide by the park’s rules.”
The Supreme Court has upheld that "The rights of free speech and assembly do not mean that everyone may address a group at any public place at any time." (Pp. 554-555 Cox vs Louisiana)