New Niche: Flash Mobs Need Lawyers, Too!

100 red and white striped shirts appeared on the scene of Tempe Market Place looking for their friend Waldo.

When most people think of flash mobs, they think about groups of people spontaneously engaging in odd behavior for a short period of time and then dispersing as if nothing strange had happened. YouTube is teeming with videos of groups of people dancing, holding still as if they are frozen, and riding public transportation in their underwear. What they don’t see is the hours of preparation that go into to selecting the event, its date and location, and inviting participants. Somewhere behind the scenes, there should always be someone who is constantly asking, “How many ways could we get sued or arrested for this?”

I am a co-founder of Improv AZ, an award-winning flash mob and prank troupe in the Phoenix area.  When Improv AZ was created, I was a first year law student, and my knowledge of criminal law only extended to homicide. It wasn’t until I attended a class for police officers on the elements of various crimes that I realized how easy it would be for the organizers of Improv AZ and our participants to get sued or arrested because of an event. It also spiked my interest in developing a niche in prank law, which is a combination of First Amendment, criminal, cyberspace, property, entertainment, media, and tort law.

The typical way to plan a flash mob is to post a public event on Facebook and invite your friends and colleagues to participate. If any aspect of your event is illegal, you just committed solicitation because you asked people to commit a crime, even if you cancel the event before it occurs.

It’s also easy to be charged with conspiracy. Often, conspiracy only requires an agreement between two people to commit a crime plus an action in furtherance of that crime, regardless of whether that act is illegal. For example, Improv AZ had a field trip to the costume store to prepare for the Epic Super Hero Battle. If any part of this fake battle between heroes and villains was illegal, going shopping for capes and masks would have been enough to get us arrested and charged.

Some of the other laws a flash mob or prank troupe might have to look up when planning an event include:

• Littering,
• Loitering,
• Trespassing,
• Assault and Battery,
• Indecent Exposure,
• Inciting a Riot,
• Impersonating a Government Official,
• Disorderly Conduct/Disturbing the Peace,
• Obstructing a Thoroughfare,
• Unlawful Assembly, and
• Local Noise Restrictions.

Every prank or flash mob troupe needs at least one legally mindful person to be the designated killjoy who can research the applicable laws to ensure that every event is legal. Along with performing research, this person must have the ability to be articulate if the group is confronted by mall cops or real cops during the event to assure them that no laws are being broken and to end the event if necessary to avoid arrest.

There are a lot risks when it comes to planning flash mobs and pranks. These events are organized by individuals, not organizations. Most of these groups are composed of a handful of people and a website. They don’t get permits or permission in advance, and they don’t have insurance if anything goes wrong.

Additionally, flash mobs and pranks are performances. Troupes bring their own photographers and videographers to events and post the footage on the internet. It’s not uncommon for the press to be tipped off and send a reporter to get footage for the evening news. To most people, this is a great way to memorialize a fun event, but to the police it’s evidence. If you organized and executed your event properly, it’s evidence that you acted within the limits of the law. However, if you didn’t, this is strong evidence against you.

It’s important that performance troupes who push the envelope have a reliable resource who “gets it” and understands why people do pranks and organize flash mobs.  Given the rash of recent violent attacks and robberies that have been improperly labeled as “flash mobs,” now more than ever, it’s imperative that real flash mobs and pranks are legally planned and executed. If you want to plan one of these events, think hard about what you want to do, where you want to do it, everything that could possibly go wrong, and then compare it to the criminal code for your state to make sure that your event is legal.

Ruth Carter is a 2011 graduate of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and a co-founder of Improv AZ. She frequently pushes the envelope on her weekly blog, UndeniableRuth.com, where she often writes about law school, internet law, and the legalities of flash mobs. When she’s not devising shenanigans, Ruth enjoys singing, running, and spending time with loved ones.

Photo courtesy of Sheila Dee.