No. 19-1184October Term 2019Decided Jan 11, 2021Updated Mar 26, 2020
Bruni v. City of Pittsburgh
This case involves a challenge to Pittsburgh’s abortion-clinic buffer-zone ordinance by sidewalk counselors who want to have quiet, one-on-one conversations and offer literature near a clinic entrance.
Case status
Decided · January 11, 2021
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jan 11, 2021
- What it's about
This case involves a challenge to Pittsburgh’s abortion-clinic buffer-zone ordinance by sidewalk counselors who want to have quiet, one-on-one conversations and offer literature near a clinic entrance. The dispute is over whether the Third Circuit improperly narrowed the ordinance to avoid First Amendment problems and then wrongly upheld it as a valid speech restriction.
Question presented
1. Did the Third Circuit err in narrowly interpreting the plain meaning of the Ordinance to find that the terms “congregate,” “patrol,” “picket,” and “demonstrate” do not prohibit sidewalk counseling, peaceful one-on-one conversations or leafletting, and that the Ordinance therefore does not constitute a content-based regulation of speech? 2. Did the Third Circuit err in determining that the Ordinance was content neutral and narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit / Decision released Jan 11, 2021
- Area
First Amendment
Timing
Decided January 11, 2021
The Court released its decision on January 11, 2021 without hearing oral argument.
Documents
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology