Today, we received word that the oral argument has been set for the Occupy Chicago Appeal. The oral argument will be May 13, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. in the Appellate Courtroom, First District of Illinois, at 160 N. LaSalle, Chicago, IL. The argument will be open to the public, although people need to show a state-issued ID in order to enter the building.
The case, City of Chicago v. Alexander, Tieg, etc. 1-12-2858 is in appellate court after a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County ruled in favor of Occupy Chicago. The case dates back to October of 2011, when approximately 300 activists associated with Occupy Chicago were arrested on two consecutive Saturdays for violating a City Municipal Ordinance mandating a curfew in all City parks.
Attorneys from People’s Law Office (PLO), along with other attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) represented those arrested. Nearly 100 of the arrestees opted to challenge their arrests and the PLO and NLG attorneys drafted and filed a Motion to Dismiss the charges based on the First Amendment. We argued that the Municipal Ordinance violated the Free Speech of those arrested. We were ultimately successful and a judge found that the ordinance was unconstitutional on its face and as applied to the activists who were defendants.
For more about the case, read these two articles on this site:
Free Speech and the Criminalization of Occupy
Occupy Chicago Appeal will Review City Ordinance’s Limits on Free Speech
In addition, below are briefs from both the City of Chicago and the NLG attorneys representing Occupy Chicago defendants.
Documents from Occupy Chicago Appeal
City of Chicago’s Appeal Brief – May 8, 2013
Occupy Chicago Response Brief – September 30, 2013
City of Chicago’s Reply Brief – December 12, 2013
Documents from Trial Level Court
Decision Ruling in Favor of Occupy Chicago – September 27, 2012
Occupy Chicago Reply to City – February 10, 2012
Original Occupy Chicago Motion to Dismiss – November 4, 2011
