Illegal Assembly

Illegal Assembly

You are a judge hearing a case regarding an illegal assembly on a state university campus. The defendants, who are mainly students, state that they were denied a permit to protest for political reasons and thus were deprived of their First Amendment rights to peaceful assembly; university officials, they claim, held back from issuing the permit so that they would have an excuse toarrest them. You examine the relevant statutes and find that your state has a 1908 statute that requires student assemblies to have at least one “monitor or chaperone.” In addition, the statute requires that the school approve all student activities. Answer the following questions:

a. Will you strike down this law, or apply it? Why?

b. If you apply it, in whose favor will you decide?

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