Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence
1984

Facts: In 1982, the National Park Service issued a permit to CCNV to conduct a winter-time demonstration in Lafayette Park and the Mall for the purpose of demonstrating the plight of the homeless. The permit allowed for the erection of 20 tents in Lafayette Park and 40 tents on the Mall. The Park Service, however, denied CCNV's request that the homeless be allowed to sleep in the tents. CCNV filed an action to stop the Park Service from enforcing the "no sleeping" regulation, claiming it was unconstitutionally vague, discriminatorily applied, and violative of the First Amendment.

Lower Court: The district court ruled in favor of the NPS, but the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of CCNV (6-5)

Substantive Issue: Does a National Park Service (NPS) regulation prohibiting camping in certain parks violate the First Amendment?

Court Held: 7-2 in favor of Clark (NPS)
Justice White wrote the majority opinion.

• Camping is permitted only in campgrounds designated for that purpose. Lafayette Park and the Mall are not designated as campgrounds.
• The NPS issued a permit to demonstrate but not to camp
• Overnight sleeping might be expressive conduct protected to some extent by the First Amendment, but
• it is subject to reasonable TPM regulations;
• a message sent via conduct must be understood as communicative;
• The NPS regulation is a TPM regulation.
• The regulation is content-neutral.
• The regulation is narrowly focused on the government's desire to maintain attractive parks.

Rule: TPM regulations that are narrowly drawn to serve an important government interest are permissible.