Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Ohio

Re: right to assemble peacefully

Attorney Richardson has already given you a very comprehensive response with much useful information. I would only add that you may try contacting your local chapter of the ACLU. In every area of the country the local ACLU chapter and thier affiliated attorneys are the true experts on constitutional law issues. You may find that they have already taken notice of the law and are intending to challenge it.

Re: right to assemble peacefully

Your questions raises lots of questions in lots of areas.

Hope this helps some.

1) The law may violate the freedom of association provisions of the Constitution.

2) The law may violate the freedom of peaceable assembly.

3) The law may be void for vagueness (how do they define a "Rave"?)

4) The law may violate freedom of expression.

To start with, you will want to know exactly what is proposed. Contact the

City Clerk and request a copy of the proposed law.

Once you have read it, then your work begins.

If you want a legal challenge or legal reasons to challenge it, you

will need to do some research. Any local law school or court house will

probably do ... go to the law library and start searching under some of the

topics listed above as possible problems with the law.

It is easy to draft a petition. Usually there is no specific legal form that

is needed ... it is just a group of people expressing the same idea, so

state, something like "We the undersigned oppose the proposed law [name the law]

for the following reasons ...." Or just put that those who sign the petition

are calling on the city council to vote against the law. It is often more

effective if you give some good reasons to oppose the law, that's where your

research will pay off.

Contact the local political parties, and other political activist

organizations for additional help on organizing and contacting and motivating

people in your cause.

Good luck.

Re: right to assemble peacefully

One additional thought about your research, you might want to read "City of Chicago v. Morales" which is a

recent U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with an anti-loitering law

targeted at stopping gangs ... it was struck down and some of the reasoning

used by the court in there may help you.