Supreme Court of the United States
Gregory v. City of Chicago
March 10, 1969394 U.S. 111
Summary
The Court reversed the convictions of demonstrators arrested after refusing a police order to disperse from a peaceful desegregation march. The Court held that the march was protected First Amendment activity, that the convictions lacked evidentiary support because petitioners were not charged with refusing a police order, and that the jury instructions permitted conviction on constitutionally impermissible grounds. Justice Black, concurring, emphasized the need for narrowly drawn regulation of disruptive conduct, while Justice Harlan concurred in the result based on the ordinance's breadth and the possibility of an unconstitutional basis for conviction; Justices Stewart and White concurred insofar as the jury-instruction principle required reversal.
Holding
- Protection of peaceful marching and demonstrating. A peaceful and orderly march to petition the government for redress of grievances falls within the conduct protected by the First Amendment.
- Evidentiary support and the charged offense. Due process forbids convictions that are totally devoid of evidentiary support or that rest on a charge different from the one brought; petitioners could not be convicted for refusing to disperse when they were charged and convicted for disorderly conduct in holding a demonstration.
- Jury instructions allowing conviction on an unconstitutional ground. Convictions must be reversed when the jury was allowed to convict on a ground that violates the First Amendment and the verdict does not reveal whether that ground was used.
Docket 60
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