Signs Outside the Recruiting Station

Six anti-war demonstrators marched in a circle outside an Army recruiting station on a downtown street, carrying signs, handing out leaflets and debating onlookers. Refused permission to display their materials inside, they staged a sit-in in the station and were ejected. They then sat or lay down on the sidewalk singing. A crowd gathered and police told them to move on. They were charged with acting in a disorderly manner to the disturbance of the public peace on a public street. The judge told the jury it could convict on several alternative grounds, including conduct that offended or disturbed onlookers or refusing a police order to move, and the jury returned a general verdict. The defence argued the protest was protected speech.