Felix Frankfurter

“ Assuming for present purposes the constitutionality of a statute prohibiting non-violent activity that tends to provoke public alarm or disturbance, such a tendency, as a crucial element of a criminal offense, must be established by evidence disclosed in the record to sustain a conviction. ”

“ But construction of the statute to prohibit non-violent, non-religious behavior in a private shop when that behavior has a tendency to disturb or alarm the public is fairly derivable from a reading of the Sanford opinion. ”

“ Silent persistence in sitting after service is refused could no doubt conceivably exacerbate feelings to the boiling point. It is not fanciful speculation, however, that a proprietor who invites trade in most parts of his establishment and restricts it in another may change his policy when non-violently challenged. ”