Clark v. Community For Creative Non-Violence

468 U.S. 288 (1984)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The Interior Department is charged with responsibility for the management of the National Parks and is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations for the use of the parks in accordance with the purposes for which they were established. The network of National Parks includes the National Memorial-core parks Lafayette Park and the Mall, which the dissent notes 'have served as the sites for some of the most rousing political demonstrations in the Nation's history.' Under the regulations involved in this case, camping in National Parks is permitted only in campgrounds designated for that purpose. No such campgrounds have ever been designated in Lafayette Park or the Mall. Demonstrations for the airing of views or grievances are permitted in the Memorial-core parks, but for the most part only by Park Service permits. Temporary structures may be erected for demonstration purposes but may not be used for camping. In 1982 the Park Service issued a renewable permit to respondent Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV) to conduct a wintertime demonstration in Lafayette Park and the Mall for the purpose of demonstrating the plight of the homeless. The permit authorized the erection of two symbolic tent cities. The Park Service, however, denied CCNV's request that demonstrators be permitted to sleep in the symbolic tents. CCNV and several individuals then filed an action to prevent the application of the anti-camping regulations of the proposed demonstration. The District Court granted summary judgment for the Park Service. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding the regulations invalid as applied.