Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc., 512 U.S. 753, 57 (1994)

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Cite as: 512 U. S. 753 (1994)

Opinion of Scalia, J.

actions of trespass and blockade, i. e., the physical shutting down of the local clinics. Secondly, if that narrow meaning of intentional blockade, impediment, or obstruction was not intended, and if it covered everything up to and including the incidental and "momentary" stopping of entering vehicles by persons leafletting and picketing, the original injunction would have failed the axiomatic requirement that its terms be drawn with precision. See, e. g., Milk Wagon Drivers, 312 U. S., at 296; 1 D. Dobbs, Law of Remedies § 2.8(7), p. 219 (2d ed. 1993); 7 J. Moore, J. Lucas, & K. Sinclair, Moore's Federal Practice ¶ 65.11 (2d ed. 1994); cf. Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 65(d) ("Every order granting an injunction . . . shall be specific in terms [and] shall describe in reasonable detail . . . the act or acts sought to be restrained"). And finally, if the original injunction did not have that narrow meaning it would assuredly have been unconstitutional, since it would have prevented speech-related activities that were, insofar as this record shows, neither criminally or civilly unlawful nor inextricably intertwined with unlawful conduct. See Milk Wagon Drivers, supra, at 292, 297; Carroll, 393 U. S., at 183-184.

If the original injunction is read as it must be, there is nothing in the trial court's findings to suggest that it was violated. The Court today speaks of "the failure of the first injunction to protect access." Ante, at 769. But the first injunction did not broadly "protect access." It forbade particular acts that impeded access, to wit, intentionally "blocking, impeding or obstructing." The trial court's findings identify none of these acts, but only a mild interference with access that is the incidental by-product of leafletting and picketing. There was no sitting down, no linking of arms, no packing en masse in the driveway; the most that can be alleged (and the trial court did not even make this a finding) is that on one occasion protesters "took their time to get out of the way." If that is enough to support this one-man proscription of free speech, the First Amendment is in grave peril.

809

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