Cole v. Arkansas

Background

A majority of workers at an Arkansas oil plant went on strike and a small group of strikers gathered near the plant entrance. One striker called to a departing employee, others signaled, and another striker attacked that employee; the attacker was killed in the struggle. The defendants were charged under an Arkansas law that forbids assembling to prevent someone from working and forbids promoting or aiding such unlawful assemblies. Their convictions went through a long appeal history and the case returned to the Supreme Court of the United States for review.

Reasoning

The key question was whether the trial court allowed conviction for mere presence where another person unexpectedly used violence. The trial court instructed the jury that conviction required proof that the defendants promoted, encouraged, or aided an unlawful assemblage for the purpose of preventing the worker from engaging in his job. The Court found those instructions, requested by the defendants, made clear that mere presence was insufficient. The Arkansas appellate opinion, the Court said, only spelled out what the trial instructions already required. The Court rejected arguments that the statute unconstitutionally abridged assembly or was too vague in this case.

Real world impact

The ruling affirms that states may criminally punish people who intentionally promote or aid violent group efforts to stop others from working, while peaceful speech and assembly remain protected. The Court did not decide whether a state may convict someone solely for being present when another person unexpectedly turns violent, so that question remains open for a future case.