BOOS v. BARRY

Legal Principle at Issue

Whether a law outlawing signs within 500 feet of a foreign embassy tending to bring the foreign government into "public odium " or "public disrepute" and gatherings that refuse to disperse violates the First Amendment.

Action

Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part. Petitioning party received a favorable disposition.

Facts/Syllabus

A District of Columbia statute made it unlawful, within 500 feet of a foreign embassy, either to display any sign that tends to bring the foreign government into "public odium" or "public disrepute" (display clause), or to congregate and refuse to obey a police dispersal order (congregation clause). 

Petitioners, who wish to engage in conduct that would violate both clauses, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against respondent city officials, asserting a facial First Amendment challenge to the statute. The district court granted respondents' motion for summary judgment, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed, concluding that both clauses were constitutional.