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I'm betting they drop most or all of the cases rather than do jury trials.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/hist…
(it gets good about 1/4 of the way through)
"[The founders] believed liberty to be the secret of happiness, and courage to be the secret of liberty. They believed that freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth; that, without free speech and assembly, discussion would be futile; that, with them, discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious doctrine; that the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people; that public discussion is a political duty, and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government."
Since we're quoting Cornell Law School's SCOTUS site, how about we look at this one too:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0468_0288_ZS.html
In 1982, the National Park Service issued a permit to respondent Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV) to conduct a demonstration in Lafayette Park and the Mall, which are National Parks in the heart of Washington, D.C. The purpose of the demonstration was to call attention to the plight of the homeless, and the permit authorized the erection of two symbolic tent cities. However, the Park Service, relying on its regulations -- particularly one that permits "camping" (defined as including sleeping activities) only in designated campgrounds, no campgrounds having ever been designated in Lafayette Park or the Mall -- denied CCNV's request that demonstrators be permitted to sleep in the symbolic tents. CCNV and the individual respondents then filed an action in Federal District Court, alleging, inter alia, that application of the regulations to prevent sleeping in the tents violated the First Amendment. The District Court granted summary judgment for the Park Service, but the Court of Appeals reversed.
Held: The challenged application of the Park Service regulations does not violate the First Amendment. Pp. 293-299.
October 29th 2011
(Edited from the Declaration of Occupation of New York City)
As one people formerly divided by the color of our skin,
gender, sexual orientation, religion or non-theism, political party and cultural background, we acknowledge the reality: That there is only one race, the human race, and our survival requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and those of our brethren; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people and the earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
To the people of the world,
We, the Portland General Assembly occupying Jamison Square in the pearl district, urge you to assert your power. Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all the resources at our disposal. Join us MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD!
The reason I linked to case that I did is because Justice Brandeis explains when the right to assemble should be violated, and it’s pretty reasonable, “Only an emergency can justify repression.” So, if you dig through the emergencies offered, you see a similar smear campaign nationwide. It was the Conference of Mayors that conspired to destroy Occupy, and they knew they had to create a narrative of a great emergency. So the emergencies offered up were simple: There was a rape, there was a theft, there was drunk people, people were getting sick, and my favorite: the grass was being destroyed. These were not just offered up in Portland, but all around the country. Zuccotti had to be cleared so the concrete could be power-washed. Only by offering these “emergencies” did the repression make sense, and the emergencies offered were clearly bullshit.