Home > Great American Court Cases > Terminiello v. Chicago

Legal Citation: 337 U.S. 1 (1949)

Petitioner
Father Arthur Terminiello

Respondent
City of Chicago

Petitioner's Claim
That the Chicago ordinance against disturbing the peace violated Terminiello's right of free expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Albert W. Dilling

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
L. Louis Karton

Justices for the Court
Hugo Lafayette Black, William O. Douglas (writing for the Court), Frank Murphy, Stanley Forman Reed, Wiley Blount Rutledge

Justices Dissenting
Harold Burton, Felix Frankfurter, Robert H. Jackson, Fred Moore Vinson

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
16 May 1949

Decision
Reversed Illinois decision affirming Terminiello's conviction for disturbing the peace on grounds that the trial...