leafletter's rights

[Guest guest]

Tammy received the following query and asked me to comment: " i'm just

curious, because street activism is pretty new to me, what are the

laws regarding sidewalk leafletting, etc.? how far/close do you need to be

from private property, etc.? i really liked being armed with this info in

case police come, etc. "

 

As DirectTV DSL has still not disconnected me so I can sign up with a new

provider, I'm still on line for a bit longer and able to give this answer:

 

Leafleters have a constitutional right, pursuant to the First Amendment to

the U.S. Constitution, to freely express their opinions. That right exists,

in part, because of the long history Americans have with pamphleteering,

going back to Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry. The 1st Amendment

protects one's ability to distribute information free from government

interference with respect to the CONTENT of the leaflet. However, in order

to protect the rights of others, one's constitutional right to leaflet, and

demonstrate in general, does not include a right to block the movements of

others or trespass onto private property or disturb the peace with

disorderly conduct. Neither does the 1st Amendment extend to leafleters and

demonstrators the right to disseminate information wherever and whenever

they want. The government has the right to regulate the time and place of

demonstrations to prevent violence or harm to the interests of others.

Thus, the government has the right to make demonstrators stand and leaflet

in a particular area if it fears violence. The bottom line is that we have

the right to leaflet but we don't have a right to block store entrances,

damage property, injure persons, and otherwise disturb the peace. If you

choose to practice civil disobedience you will be held accountable for your

actions, which will not be protected by the 1st Amendment.

 

 

From my 15 years of experience demonstrating and leafleting for animal

rights, and over 20 years of experience practicing law, often providing

pro-bono representation to animal rights demonstrators, I have learned that

leafleting and demonstrating can frequently be enhanced by a good working

relationship with the police. If you introduce yourself to the police and

tell them in a friendly way exactly what you intend to do, and insure them

that you intend to abide by the law, they will almost always try to protect

your right to demonstrate just as they protect the property of the target

against which you are demonstrating. The issue is not how close to the

target you can leaflet, but how well you respect the rights of others while

you leaflet. If you treat other people with respect and friendship, and

avoid interfering with their own freedom of movement, and treat the police

like friends, you don't generally have to worry about your rights because no

one will interfere with you.