Obstructions of justice?

Chapter 6 documented the pervasiveness of a judicial characterization of the

sidewalk as a fully state-owned space that is to be cleansed of obstructions in the

service of pedestrian fl ow. Common law courts have tended to be ambivalent

towards uses of the sidewalk other than those associated with passage. Indeed, if

permitted at all, such uses are seen more often as conditional privileges than full-

throated rights. In this chapter, I explore such alternative uses, noting the ways in

which they confl ict with judicial pedestrianism. This can prove controversial,

particularly when such uses are characterized as implicating rights such as those

relating to assembly or speech.