Dempsey v. People

To be consistent with First Amendment principles, the majority applies the three elements test articulated in the seminal ease of In re Kay, to determine that Dempsey’s conviction for disrupting a lawful assembly is not supported by sufficient evidence. 1 Cal.3d 930, 83 Cal.Rptr. 686, 464 P.2d 142 (1970). However, the majority fails to require, as Kay does, that the jury consider these very same elements in a prosecution for disrupting a lawful assembly when the defendant claims he is exercising his constitutionally protected free speech rights. Id., 83 Cal.Rptr. 686, 464 P.2d at 153. In my…