In a lunchtime talk at American University Washington College of Law, founding partner Lawrence Siskind will consider the constitutional dimensions of this past year’s Occupy Movement, including the difficulty of reconciling the first amendment rights of the protesters with the legitimate public safety concerns defended by local law enforcement offices. Mr. Siskind’s June 14 talk, “Pre-Occupied with the First Amendment: Content, Conduct, and the Constitutional Dimensions of the Occupy Movement,” will pose a number of intriguing questions, including:
What is the proper balance between free speech and public safety? Is there a discernible difference between peaceful protest and disruptive conduct? Which side—“Occupy” protesters or local police—more often crossed the line and upset the delicate constitutional harmony that governs these matters?
Mr. Siskind has written extensively on the Occupy Movement, including a January article published in The Recorder, “Preoccupied with the First Amendment.” The talk, which is sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the John Jay Center on Media, Crime, and Justice, is open to the public and will include a free lunch. For more information about Mr. Siskind’s talk, please visit its event page on the Intercollegiate Studies Institute website.
