Feiner v. New York 1951

• Author: Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw
• Pages: 179-183

Contenidos

• On his soapbox.
• The law arrives.
• No freedom to riot.
• Official censorship.
• Suggestions for further reading.

Page 179

Petitioner: Irving Feiner

Respondent: State of New York

Petitioner's Claim: That convicting him for disorderly conduct for speaking to a public crowd violated his freedom of speech.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner: Sidney H. Greenberg

Chief Lawyer for Respondent: Dan J. Kelly

Justices for the Court: Harold Burton, Tom C. Clark, Felix Frankfurter, Robert H. Jackson, Stanley Forman Reed, Fred Moore Vinson

Justices Dissenting: Hugo Lafayette Black, William O. Douglas, Sherman Minton

Date of Decision: January 15, 1951

Decision: Feiner's conviction did not violate the First Amendment.

Significance: Freedom of speech does not allow people to incite riots.

On his soapbox

In 1948, city officials in Syracuse, New York, gave O. John Rogge a permit to speak at a public school building. A group that was working for equal rights for African Americans, called the Young Progressives, organized the speech. The planned subject of Rogge's talk was racial discrimination and civil rights.

Page 180

On the day of the speech, Syracuse cancelled the permit. The Young Progressives then arranged for Rogge to speak at the Hotel Syracuse. Irving Feiner, a college student, announced the change of plans to the public on a street corner. Standing on a wooden box and using a loudspeaker attached to an automobile, Feiner attracted a crowd of about seventy-five people, both white and black.

Associate Justice Fred Moore Vinson. Courtesy of the Supreme Court of the United States.

During his announcement, Feiner made comments about public officials. He called President Harry S. Truman and the mayor of Syracuse "bums." Feiner said the local government was run by "corrupt politicians" and that the American Legion was a "Nazi Gestapo." At least one witness recalled Feiner saying African Americans should "rise up in arms and fight for their rights."

The law arrives

After receiving a call about a public disturbance, two policemen arrived at the scene of Feiner's speech. The crowd was blocking foot traffic on the sidewalk and spilling into the street, so the police moved the crowd onto the sidewalk. The officers said Feiner's speech caused mumbling, grumbling, and shoving in the crowd. After Feiner made the comment about African Americans fighting for their rights, one man told the officers that if they did not stop Feiner, he would.

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