Coates v. City of Cincinnati

A Cincinnati, Ohio, ordinance makes it a criminal offense for “three or more persons to assemble ... on any of the sidewalks . . . and there conduct themselves in a manner annoying to persons passing by . ...”1 *612The issue before us is whether this ordinance is unconstitutional on its face.

The appellants were convicted of violating the ordinance, and the convictions were ultimately affirmed by a closely divided vote in the Supreme Court of Ohio, upholding the constitutional validity of the ordinance. 21 Ohio St. 2d 66, 256 N. E. 2d 247. An appeal from that judgment was brought here under 28 U.…