University of Houston Law Center



Village of Skokie v. National Socialist Party of AmericaDecided: January 27, 1978The National Socialist Party of America had planned a demonstration in front of the Village of Skokie’s city hall in 1977. The demonstration was explained by its leader, Frank Collin, to be a protest against the village’s law that had prohibited the Nazi Party from holding an assembly in a local park. The Nazi Party planned on having a 30-minute demonstration in front of City Hall with 30 to 50 demonstrators participating. The demonstrators were going to march back and forth in front of city hall in “Storm Trooper” uniforms that displayed the Swastika, a Nazi symbol. The demonstrators were to a party banner containing a swastika emblem and signs containing such statements as “White Free Speech,” “Free Speech for the White Man,” and “Free Speech for White America.” The demonstrators would not distribute handbills, make any derogatory statements directed to any ethnic or religious group, or obstruct traffic. The Nazi Party did not need a permit to march in front of City Hall. The Village of Skokie is a suburb of Chicago and has a total population of 70,000 people. Approximately 40,000 of its residents were of Jewish ancestry, with a significant amount of those being Holocaust survivors or family of Holocaust victims and survivors. Upon becoming aware of the Nazi Party’s intentions, the Village of Skokie asked a local judge to issue an injunction that would prevent the Nazi Party from demonstrating at City Hall.The judge heard testimony from locals in the Jewish community in and around Skokie who testified that they felt the purpose of the march was to “strike fear in the heart of the Jewish population,” remind Holocaust survivors “that we are not through with you,” and to show “that the Nazi threat is not over, it can happen again.”?The judge also heard testimony that 15 to 18 Jewish organizations were planning a counterdemonstration of an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 people was scheduled for the same day.After hearing all of the testimony, the judge issued the injunction and prohibited the Nazi Party from marching at City Hall. The Nazi Party appealed and the case reached the Illinois Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s decision focused on whether prior restraint was justified in this case under the “fighting words” doctrine. The Court came to its decision by looking at the march itself and at the uniforms and Swastika symbol worn by the Nazi Party. Is it important that the Village of Skokie is predominately Jewish? Is it important that the Jewish population consists of many Holocaust survivors?Was the use of the swastika “fighting words” or symbolic speech?What are the arguments in favor of affirming the injunction and stopping the Nazi Party from marching?What are the arguments in favor of reversing the injunction and allowing the Nazi Party from marching?How do you think the Court should have decided? ................
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