Q: In October of 2012 I conducted a month long protest at the Capitol in Sacramento. I was arrested immediately because I did not have a permit, held for five hours and then never charged. They gave me a permit when I got out of jail and, though I had to follow several special conditions, I was allowed to stay on the grounds (only from 10am to 6pm)and there was never a single problem during the entire month.
I applied for a permit again this year, at the end of April, for the month of June. It requested only mon-fri since I know that time of year there are a lot of large events at the Capitol. I was only given one day to protest and was not allowed to move to a different location (as I had the year before) when another event was scheduled. I was told this change of policy was in response to the Boston bombings.
I fail to see how that has anything to do with me doing a peaceful protest, especially when I’m agreeing to whatever conditions they ask of me. In other words, they simply are attempting to keep me from protesting AT ALL because they are aware that I will be there every year until the problem is taken care of. What can I do? If I thought that going to jail again would be effective I would do so however they simply arrest me but then don’t charge me….
A: The issue of to what extent the government may limit a request for a protest permit requires a complicated an highly contextual analysis that is unfortunately beyond the scope of the services offered by this hotline.
As a very general matter, the government can impose reasonable and content-neutral time, place and matter restrictions on a protest that leave open ample alternatives for communicating the desired message. See Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence, 468 U.S. 288 91984) (affirming condition on permit that forbade protestors from sleeping during protest).
However, the First Amendment likely requires more than a general concern like the Boston Marathon bombings as a justification for a time, place and manner restriction.
You may want to consult with an attorney who can give you specific legal advice.
Bryan Cave LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to FAC hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.