United States Second Circuit

New York Penal Law section 240.35(4), an anti-mask statute pursuant to which plaintiffs were denied a parade permit, is valid under the First Amendment. The mask that the members seek to wear in public demonstrations does not convey a message independently of the robe and hood; the law regulates conduct rather than pure speech and is not facially invalid for distinguishing between types of conduct; no viewpoint discrimination or selective enforcement has been shown.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/20/2004
• Published 01/20/2004

Judges

• JOSÉ A. CABRANES, Circuit Judge., Before:  JACOBS, CABRANES, and SOTOMAYOR, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Ronald E. Sternberg (Leonard Koerner, Rachel Goldman, of counsel;  Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, on the brief), Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, New York, NY, for Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Beth Haroules (Arthur N. Eisenberg, Norman Siegel, of counsel), New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY, for Appellees.