Chase v. Robson
Citation | 435 F.2d 1059 |
Decision Date | 01 May 1970 |
Docket Number | 18417.,No. 18424,18424 |
Parties | Frederick Joseph CHASE et al., Petitioners, v. Honorable Edwin A. ROBSON, Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Respondent. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Frederick Joseph CHASE et al., Defendants-Appellants. |
Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit) |
Patrick J. Hughes, Jr., William C. Cunningham, Chicago, Ill., Anthony P. Locricchio, Clair Shores, Mich., for Chase et al.
Thomas A. Foran, U. S. Atty., Chicago, Ill., for Judge Robson.
Marc R. Kadish, Rene C. Hanover, Frank A. Anglin, Jr., Chicago, Ill., amici curiae.
Before SWYGERT, Chief Judge, and KILEY and KERNER, Circuit Judges.
On Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Prohibition in No. 18417 May 1, 1970.
The above matter comes before this court on a petition for writ of mandamus and prohibition, or in the alternative, as an appeal from an order below, 309 F.Supp. 430. The petitioners, Frederick Joseph Chase, et al., are the defendants in a criminal case No. 69 CR 364 pending before the respondent, United States District Judge Edwin A. Robson, and scheduled to begin trial on May 4, 1970. The petitioners are charged in a four-count indictment with injury and depredation of files, records and documents located at a Chicago selective service area headquarters; removal, mutilation and destruction of selective service registration cards; interference with the administration of the Selective Service Act by removal and destruction of records; and conspiracy to injure and commit depredations against government property.
The above matter arises from a sua sponte order issued by the Honorable Edwin A. Robson at the time of the pretrial motions in the case of United States of America v. Frederick Joseph Chase et al. The sua sponte order in pertinent part provides:
/S/ Edwin A. Robson, February 24, 1970.
The petitioners challenge this order as unconstitutionally overbroad and violative of their first amendment rights of freedom of speech.
From the full text of Judge Robson's order it appears that the order is based on the following:
We hold that before a trial court can limit defendants' and their attorneys' exercise of first amendment rights of freedom of speech, the record must contain sufficient specific findings by the trial court establishing that defendants' and their attorneys' conduct is "a serious and imminent threat to the administration of justice." Craig v. Harney, 331 U.S. 367, 373, 67 S.Ct. 1249, 1253, 91 L.Ed. 1546 (1947). Applying either the standard that the speech must create a "clear and present danger," Wood v. Georgia, 370 U.S. 375, 82 S.Ct. 1364, 8 L.Ed.2d 569 (1962), of a serious and imminent threat to the administration of justice, or the lesser standard that there must be a "reasonable likelihood," United States v. Tijerina, 412 F.2d 661 (10th Cir. 1969), of a serious and imminent threat to the administration of justice, we hold that the trial court's order is constitutionally impermissible.
Directing ourselves to the basis of Judge Robson's order, we find that:
(1) The newspaper articles appended to the defendants' brief in support of a motion for a continuance which led the trial court to believe defendants sought publicity via contacting the press and press releases were seven months old when Judge Robson issued his order1 and are insufficient support for the proposition that the defendants' future first amendment utterances, if any, would interfere with the fair administration of the trial.
(2) While we agree "it is fundamental to our system of...
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