Walk It Through: The Protest And The Council
An order to disperse, a fenced lot, a council meeting on camera, and a records request.
A crowd protests a city decision. After some people start throwing bottles, an officer orders everyone to disperse.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One protest and its aftermath. Permits and parade ordinances, a riot charge, the grounds for closing part of a meeting, and the confidential records exceptions are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Breach of peaceMaliciously and willfully disturbing a neighborhood or person by loud or unusual noises, tumultuous and offensive conduct, threats, quarreling, challenging to fight, or fighting, a misdemeanor.
- RiotTwo or more people actually doing an unlawful act of violence, or a lawful act in a violent, tumultuous and illegal manner, a misdemeanor.
- RoutTwo or more people meeting to do an unlawful act on a common cause of quarrel and making advances toward it, a misdemeanor.
- Unlawful assemblyTwo or more people assembling to do an unlawful act and separating without doing or advancing toward it, a misdemeanor.
- Open meetingA meeting of a public body that everyone may attend in person or by its remote technology system, with written notice at least 3 working days ahead except in an emergency, and which any member of the public may record.