Dahlia Lithwick checks legal precedents that might apply to Wall Street occupiers:
The case law on sleeping and protesting is both fascinating and hilarious.
The most important case Dunn identifies is Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence, a 1984 decision from the Supreme Court about advocates for the homeless who were protesting (and sleeping outdoors) in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, and on the National Mall. The issue for the court was whether denying permits to sleep overnight as part of the protest violated the First Amendment. The court said it was OK to prohibit sleeping. At the same time, it conceded that "overnight sleeping in connection with the demonstration is expressive conduct protected to some extent by the First Amendment." It then got itself out of this legal and logical dead end by finding that the rule barring overnight protests was constitutional because it "narrowly focuses on the Government's substantial interest in maintaining the parks in the heart of our Capital in an attractive and intact condition, readily available to the millions of people who wish to see and enjoy them by their presence."
(Photo: Members of Occupy Wall Street sleep, spending the night on Zuccotti Park near Wall Street in New York, October 11, 2011. Protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement scheduled a 'Millionaires March' taking their march in front of the homes of some of New York City's wealthiest residents in Manhattan Upper East Side. By Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)
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