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Boos v. Barry

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Boos v. Barry
Argued November 9, 1987
Decided March 22, 1988
Full case nameMichael Boos, J. Michael Waller and Bridget Brooker, Petitioners v. Marion S. BARRY, Jr., Mayor, District of Columbia, et al.
Citations485 U.S. 312 (more)
Holding
Content-based restrictions on political speech in a public forum must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Case opinions
MajorityO'Connor, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Stevens, Scalia
ConcurrenceBrennan, Marshall
ConcurrenceRehnquist (dissenting in part), joined by White, Blackmun
Kennedy took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I

Boos v. Barry, 485 U.S. 312 (1988), was a First Amendment rights case before the United States Supreme Court. The plaintiffs, a group protesting the Contra War and the jailing of Andrei Sakharov, challenged a District of Columbia code forbidding the display within 500 feet of an embassy of any sign that tends to bring the foreign government in question into "public odium" or "public disrepute."[1]

The U.S. Supreme Court found the "display clause" of the code banning the display of certain protest signs to be facially unconstitutional, as the U.S. government did not have a compelling interest in protecting foreign governments from insults. However, the court maintained the constitutionality of a "congregation clause" of the code requiring protesters to obey any police dispersal orders.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Boos v. Barry(1988)". firstamendment.mtsu.edu.
  2. ^ "Boos v. Barry, 485 U.S. 312 (1988)". supreme.justia.com.

Further reading

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Text of Boos v. Barry, 485 U.S. 312 (1988) is available from: Justia Library of Congress