Professor Brownstein Discusses 'Banker's Dozen' Protest on Capital Public Radio's Insight
Professor Alan Brownstein commented for the Capital Public Radio news program Insight on the recent protests at UC Davis that resulted in the closing of a bank branch that had operated on campus and the subsequent prosecution of the "banker's dozen" group of protestors.
Eleven students and one professor have been charged in connection with the protests under state laws that make it a misdemeanor to willfully obstruct movement on a street or public place, leading some to question whether their activities were constitutionally protected expression. Professor Brownstein explained that physically blockading a business is not a protected form of expression.
"It's important to recognize that the purpose of freedom of speech is to enable speakers to inform and to persuade their audiences without state interference," Professor Brownstein said. "Freedom of speech doesn't protect conduct that physically coerces other people to change their behavior. There is no free speech right to impose your will on someone else. You don't have a free speech right to obstruct their liberty or to interfere with their lawful pursuits."
Professor Brownstein also spoke on the rules governing campus protests in general and his recent role as part of the university task force investigating the November 2011 incident in which campus police pepper-sprayed protestors.
Professor Brownstein, a nationally recognized Constitutional Law scholar, teaches Constitutional Law, Law and Religion, and Torts at UC Davis School of Law, where he holds the Boochever and Bird Endowed Chair for the Study and Teaching of Freedom and Equality.