2. Vagueness, Overbreadth, and Prior Restraint

        A. Vagueness and Overbreadth

Suppose I stand on the street corner and read aloud from a book which is obscene (in the constitutional sense), but I'm prosecuted under a statute which prohibits public speech "which is annoying to passersby" -- can I challenge the prosecution on constitutional grounds? If so, which ones? Due process? Freedom of speech?

Herndon v. Lowry, p. 1247 (1937).

• what was the proven conduct on the basis of which Herndon was convicted?
• how was the crime defined, of which he was convicted?
• was it possible for Herndon to determine, from the law on the books, whether or not what he was doing was forbidden?
• was the conduct that was proven, itself constitutionally protected under the 1^st A.?

• how was the offense defined, on the basis of which Coates was convicted?
• what was the proven conduct, on the basis of which Coates was convicted?
• was that conduct (whatever it was) clearly constitutionally protected?
• whose constitutional rights did Coates invoke, in order to strike the statute down? did he have standing to invoke them?

• had the plaintiffs knowingly violated the statute they were trying to enjoin?
• was their conduct constitutionally protected?
• was the language of the statute so vague that they couldn't be sure that they had violated it?
• did the statute purport to prohibit other conduct that is constitutionally protected?
• how much such conduct must be encompassed within the prohibition, to allow these plaintiffs to challenge the constitutionality of the statute?

• did the challengers invoke their own constitutional right to free speech, or that of others?
• if the former, is the statute to be declared void on its face, or only unconstitutional as applied to these challengers' conduct?
 
B. Prior Restraint
• What counts as a disfavored "prior restraint"? Licensing, censorship, injunctions
• NEAR V. MINNESOTA, p. 1257 (1931)
• had the newspaper in fact published unprotected defamation?
• is it improper to enjoin future publication of a specific statement proven to be libellous?
• what made this particular injunction improper?
• If an injunction is improper, is the addressee free to disobey it, or must he attack it first?
• WATCHTOWER BIBLE SOCIETY, Supp. p. 151 (2002): canvassers’ license requirement
• what burden of justification does the ordinance have to meet?
• what interests was the Village trying to protect?  How did the ordinance fit with
          each interest claimed?