Grayned v. City of Rockford

Appellant

Richard Grayned

Appellee

City of Rockford

Appellant's Claim

That he should not have been convicted for his participation in a demonstration that allegedly violated the city of Rockford's anti-picketing and antinoise ordinances because the ordinances were overbroad and should be struck down.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Sophia H. Hall

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

William E. Collins

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger, Thurgood Marshall (writing for the Court), Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

William O. Douglas

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

26 June 1972

Decision

That the anti-picketing ordinance was overbroad and was therefore invalid; that the antinoise ordinance, which prohibited only noise that took place near a public school and might disrupt school activity, was valid; and that therefore Grayned's conviction under the anti-picketing ordinance was reversed while his conviction under the antinoise ordinance was upheld.

Further Readings

• Werhan, Keither. "The Supreme Court's public forum doctrine and the return of formalism." Cardozo Law Review, Winter 1986, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 335-437.