Police Department of the City of
Chicago v. Mosley case brief summary
408 U.S. 92 (1972)
CASE SYNOPSIS
On writ of certiorari to the United
States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, petitioner police
department sought review of a judgment which reversed a district
court's dismissal of respondent picketer's action alleging that a
municipal ordinance violated his constitutional rights in that it
punished activity protected by the First Amendment and
denied him equal protection of the law.CASE FACTS
Prior to enactment of an ordinance prohibiting picketing near school buildings while school was in session, respondent picketer frequently picketed a city high school, carrying a sign saying that the school practiced discrimination. After the ordinance passed, petitioner police department informed respondent that if his picketing continued he would be arrested. Respondent brought an action alleging a violation of his constitutional rights in that the ordinance punished activity protected by the First Amendment, and that by exempting only peaceful labor picketing from its prohibition against picketing, the statute denied him equal protection of the law. The district court dismissed the complaint. The court of appeals reversed, holding that because the ordinance prohibited even peaceful picketing near a school, it was overbroad and unconstitutional on its face.
DISCUSSION
- The Court affirmed the court of appeals' judgment on a ground not reached by that court.
- The Court held that the ordinance was unconstitutional because it made an impermissible distinction between labor picketing and other peaceful picketing, thereby violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
CONCLUSION
The Court affirmed the judgment on a different ground. The Court held that the ordinance made an impermissible distinction between labor picketing and other peaceful picketing and thereby violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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