Teacher protests in Chicago AP Images Score one for the Chicago Teachers Union protest?

A federal appeals court has overridden part of a Chicago ordinance allowing police to break up protests when people near the demonstration are breaking the law, The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog reported Monday.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled police can disperse protests when three or more people nearby could cause "substantial harm" to bystanders but cannot break up a demonstration if people nearby are simply causing "serious inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm."

The court decided the ordinance was too vague and agreed with a man who was arrested in 2008 while protesting the Iraq War, according to Law Blog.

The Seventh Circuit's ruling comes just in time for the citywide Chicago teachers protest, which began in earnest Monday.

Teachers are demanding bigger raises and a decreased emphasis on student performance in teacher evaluations.