Carroll v. Princess Anne

393 U.S. 175 (1968)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Carroll (P) held a 'white supremacist' rally near the courthouse steps in the town of Princess Anne. The authorities did not attempt to interfere with the rally. Because of the tense atmosphere which developed as the meeting progressed, about 60 state policemen were brought in, including some from a nearby county. P's speeches, amplified by a public address system so that they could be heard for several blocks, were aggressively and militantly racist. Their target was primarily Negroes and, secondarily, Jews. The speakers engaged in deliberately derogatory, insulting, and threatening language, scarcely disguised by protestations of peaceful purposes; and that listeners might well have construed their words as both a provocation to the Negroes in the crowd and an incitement to the whites. The rally continued for something more than an hour, concluding at about 8:25 p. m. The crowd listening to the speeches increased from about 50 at the beginning to about 150, of whom 25% were Negroes. It was announced that the rally would be resumed the following night, August 7. The officials of Princess Anne and Somerset County (D), applied for and obtained a restraining order from the Circuit Court for Somerset County. The proceedings were ex parte, with no notice being given to P and no effort being made informally to communicate with them, although this is expressly contemplated under Maryland procedure. The order restrained petitioners for 10 days from holding rallies or meetings in the county 'which will tend to disturb and endanger the citizens of the County.' The August 7th was not held. After the trial which took place 10 days later, an injunction was issued by the Circuit Court on August 30, extending the restraint for 10 additional months. The Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed the 10-day order, but reversed the 10-month order on the ground that 'the period of time was unreasonable and that it was arbitrary to assume that a clear and present danger of civil disturbance and riot would persist for ten months.' The Supreme Court granted certiorari.