Facts of the Case
In 1966, at a local meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) attended by several hundred people in Claiborne County, Mississippi, the group launched a boycott of white merchants. The purpose of the boycott was to promote equality and racial justice. The boycott consisted of nonviolent picketing, but some acts and threats of violence also occurred. In 1969, white merchants sued the NAACP for damages as a result of the injuries to their businesses that the boycott caused. These damages included loss of earnings over a seven-year period. The Chancery Court imposed damages liability and the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the imposition of tort liability as well as concluding the entire boycott was unlawful since the NAACP agreed to use force, violence, and “threats” to carryout the boycott.
Questions
Are the nonviolent elements of the petitioners’ activities entitled to the protection of the First Amendment?
(1) If so, is a protest liable in damages caused by the nonviolent, protected activity?
Conclusions
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Yes, no. Justice John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the 8-0 majority. The Court held that the nonviolent elements of the protesters’ activities are entitled to the protection of the First Amendment. In this case, the members of the NAACP exercised their First Amendment right of speech, assembly, and petition in a nonviolent way to bring about social change. The NAACP is not liable in damages for the consequences of their nonviolent activity and the damages cannot be recovered because the violence or threats of violence were not a proximate cause of the business losses.
Justice Thurgood Marshall took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.
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