Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins
Encyclopedia
Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins, , was a U.S. Supreme Court decision issued on June 9, 1980 which arose out of a free speech dispute between the Pruneyard Shopping Center
in Campbell
, California
, and several local high school
students (who wished to solicit signatures for a petition against United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379). In American constitutional law
, this case is famous for its role in establishing two important rules:
This holding was possible because California
's constitution contains an affirmative right of free speech which has been liberally construed by the Supreme Court of California
, while the federal constitution's First Amendment contains only a negative command to Congress to not abridge the freedom of speech. This distinction was significant because the U.S. Supreme Court had already held that under the federal First Amendment
, there was no implied right of free speech within a private shopping center. The Pruneyard case, therefore, raised the question of whether an implied right of free speech could arise under a state constitution without conflicting with the federal Constitution. In answering yes to that question, the Court rejected the shopping center's argument that California's broader free speech right amounted to a "taking"
of the shopping center under federal constitutional law.
Footnote two of the decision quotes the relevant portions of the California Constitution, which states in Article 1, § 2 and Article 1, § 3
The vote to uphold the California decision was unanimous, although four justices disagreed with part of the reasoning in Justice William Rehnquist
's opinion for the majority. Justices Thurgood Marshall
, Byron White
, and Lewis Powell
filed separate concurring opinions. Justice Harry Blackmun
filed a brief "statement" indicating that he was joining in all of Justice Rehnquist's opinion except for one sentence.
Because of the Pruneyard case, people who visit shopping centers in California may regularly encounter people seeking money or attention for various causes, including charitable solicitations, qualifying petitions for amendments to the state constitution, voter registration drives, and sometimes a beggar. In turn, many shopping centers have posted signs to explain that they do not endorse the views of people exercising their right to free speech, and that if patrons do not give them money, the speakers will go away.
s of New York
and Wisconsin
both attacked it as an unprincipled and whimsical decision. In 2003, the European Court of Human Rights
also considered and refused to follow Pruneyard in a United Kingdom
case. Only New Jersey
, Colorado
, and Massachusetts
have followed California, albeit with some reservations. In a 2000 decision, Puerto Rico
(a U.S. territory) also adopted Pruneyard's right of free speech, although the case was complicated by the presence of a branch office of a government agency (Puerto Rico Telephone, since privatized) in the shopping center (the Mayagüez Mall
). Some commentators have suggested the Pruneyard rule could be applied to speech on the Internet, including speech activities in virtual world
s, like Linden Labs' Second Life
, although courts have not yet addressed this theory.
In the two decades since Pruneyard was decided, the Supreme Court of California has become much more conservative
, especially after three liberal justices (including Chief Justice Rose Bird
) were removed by the electorate in 1986 for their opposition to the death penalty.
In the 2001 Golden Gateway decision, a 4–3 majority of the Court significantly narrowed Pruneyard by holding for a variety of reasons that California's free speech right does not apply to private apartment complexes while concurrently refusing to overrule Pruneyard. Thus, California's right of free speech in private shopping centers still survives.
Naturally, the shopping center industry strongly opposes the Pruneyard decision because it has resulted in numerous test cases by protesters in California and elsewhere trying to find the boundaries of the Pruneyard rule); shopping centers have regularly imposed restrictions on unwanted solicitors and appealed the resulting legal cases in the hope of convincing the California judiciary that Pruneyard should be overturned or at least limited. Since Golden Gateway, decisions by the intermediate Courts of Appeal have generally limited the scope of the Pruneyard rule to the facts of the original case. For example, starting in 1997, the parking lot
s at many Costco
warehouse club
stores in California became sites of conflict involving a large number of political activist groups who had gradually become aware of their rights under Pruneyard. In 1998, Costco's management imposed several restrictions, including a complete ban on soliciting at stand-alone stores, a rule that no group or person could use Costco premises for free speech more than five days out of any thirty, and the complete exclusion of solicitors on the 34 busiest days of the year.
In 2002, these restrictions were upheld as reasonable by the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, and the Supreme Court of California denied review. The court found that Costco's stand-alone stores lacked the social congregation attributes of the multi-tenant shopping center at issue in Pruneyard. As for the restrictions on the stores in shopping centers, they were held to be reasonable because Costco had developed a strong factual record at trial which proved that hordes of unwanted solicitors had significantly interfered with its business operations—they had damaged its reputation, obstructed access to its stores, and traumatized Costco employees.
In 2007, the Supreme Court of California confronted the Pruneyard decision once more, in the context of a complex labor dispute involving San Diego's Fashion Valley Mall
and the San Diego Union-Tribune. On December 24, 2007, a 4-3 majority of a sharply divided court once again refused to overrule Pruneyard and, instead, ruled that under the California Constitution, a union's right of free speech in a shopping center includes the right to hand out leaflets urging patrons to boycott
one of the tenants. Justice Ming Chin
, in his dissent joined by Justices Marvin Baxter and Carol Corrigan
, expressed his sympathy with several of the most common critiques of the Pruneyard decision: "Pruneyard was wrong when decided. In the nearly three decades that have since elapsed, jurisdictions throughout the nation have overwhelmingly rejected it. We should no longer ignore this tide of history. The time has come for us to forthrightly overrule Pruneyard and rejoin the rest of the nation in this important area of the law. Private property should be treated as private property, not as a public free speech zone."
In 2010, the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District, in an opinion authored by then-Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye
(now Chief Justice of California), held that it is unconstitutional under Pruneyard for shopping mall giant Westfield Group to promulgate rules discriminating in favor of commercial speech in its malls and against noncommercial speech. The plaintiff had been detained by Westfield security after attempting to discuss the principles of his Christian
faith with strangers at the Westfield Galleria at Roseville
.
Pruneyard Shopping Center
The PruneYard Shopping Center is a sprawling 250,000 square foot shopping center located in Campbell, California at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and Bascom Avenue, just east of State Route 17. It also features three office towers, one of which is the tallest building in the area outside of...
in Campbell
Campbell, California
Campbell is a city in Santa Clara County, California, a suburb of San Jose, and part of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Campbell's population is 39,349...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and several local high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
students (who wished to solicit signatures for a petition against United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379). In American constitutional law
United States constitutional law
United States constitutional law is the body of law governing the interpretation and implementation of the United States Constitution.- Introduction :United States constitutional law defines the scope and application of the terms of the Constitution...
, this case is famous for its role in establishing two important rules:
- under the California ConstitutionCalifornia ConstitutionThe document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which...
, individuals may peacefully exercise their right to free speech in parts of private shopping centers regularly held open to the public, subject to reasonable regulations adopted by the shopping centers - under the U.S. Constitution, statesU.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
can provide their citizens with broader rights in their constitutions than under the federal Constitution, so long as those rights do not infringe on any federal constitutional rights
This holding was possible because California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's constitution contains an affirmative right of free speech which has been liberally construed by the Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
, while the federal constitution's First Amendment contains only a negative command to Congress to not abridge the freedom of speech. This distinction was significant because the U.S. Supreme Court had already held that under the federal First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
, there was no implied right of free speech within a private shopping center. The Pruneyard case, therefore, raised the question of whether an implied right of free speech could arise under a state constitution without conflicting with the federal Constitution. In answering yes to that question, the Court rejected the shopping center's argument that California's broader free speech right amounted to a "taking"
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
of the shopping center under federal constitutional law.
The vote to uphold the California decision was unanimous, although four justices disagreed with part of the reasoning in Justice William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
's opinion for the majority. Justices Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
, Byron White
Byron White
Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White won fame both as a football halfback and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed to the court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, he served until his retirement in 1993...
, and Lewis Powell
Lewis Powell
Lewis Powell may refer to:*Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States*Lewis Powell , alias "Lewis Payne", conspirator hanged for taking part in the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln...
filed separate concurring opinions. Justice Harry Blackmun
Harry Blackmun
Harold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...
filed a brief "statement" indicating that he was joining in all of Justice Rehnquist's opinion except for one sentence.
Because of the Pruneyard case, people who visit shopping centers in California may regularly encounter people seeking money or attention for various causes, including charitable solicitations, qualifying petitions for amendments to the state constitution, voter registration drives, and sometimes a beggar. In turn, many shopping centers have posted signs to explain that they do not endorse the views of people exercising their right to free speech, and that if patrons do not give them money, the speakers will go away.
Subsequent developments
Although 39 other states have free speech clauses in their constitutions that resemble California's—indeed, California borrowed its clause from a similar one in the New York Constitution—at least 13 of those states have declined to follow California in extending the right of free speech into private shopping centers. In refusing to follow Pruneyard, the state supreme courtState supreme court
In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....
s of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
both attacked it as an unprincipled and whimsical decision. In 2003, the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
also considered and refused to follow Pruneyard in a United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
case. Only New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
have followed California, albeit with some reservations. In a 2000 decision, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
(a U.S. territory) also adopted Pruneyard's right of free speech, although the case was complicated by the presence of a branch office of a government agency (Puerto Rico Telephone, since privatized) in the shopping center (the Mayagüez Mall
Mayagüez Mall
Mayagüez Mall is a shopping mall located between the municipalities of Mayagüez and Hormigueros. It is the third largest shopping center in Puerto Rico with a total of of retail space, and the main shopping center in western Puerto Rico, followed by Western Plaza also in Mayagüez, Aguadilla Mall...
). Some commentators have suggested the Pruneyard rule could be applied to speech on the Internet, including speech activities in virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
s, like Linden Labs' Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
, although courts have not yet addressed this theory.
In the two decades since Pruneyard was decided, the Supreme Court of California has become much more conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
, especially after three liberal justices (including Chief Justice Rose Bird
Rose Bird
Rose Elizabeth Bird served for 10 years as the 25th Chief Justice of California. She was the first female Justice, and first female Chief Justice, on that court, appointed by then Governor Jerry Brown...
) were removed by the electorate in 1986 for their opposition to the death penalty.
In the 2001 Golden Gateway decision, a 4–3 majority of the Court significantly narrowed Pruneyard by holding for a variety of reasons that California's free speech right does not apply to private apartment complexes while concurrently refusing to overrule Pruneyard. Thus, California's right of free speech in private shopping centers still survives.
Naturally, the shopping center industry strongly opposes the Pruneyard decision because it has resulted in numerous test cases by protesters in California and elsewhere trying to find the boundaries of the Pruneyard rule); shopping centers have regularly imposed restrictions on unwanted solicitors and appealed the resulting legal cases in the hope of convincing the California judiciary that Pruneyard should be overturned or at least limited. Since Golden Gateway, decisions by the intermediate Courts of Appeal have generally limited the scope of the Pruneyard rule to the facts of the original case. For example, starting in 1997, the parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
s at many Costco
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
warehouse club
Warehouse club
A warehouse club is a retail store, usually selling a wide variety of merchandise, in which customers are required to buy large, wholesale quantities of the store's products, which makes these clubs attractive to both bargain hunters and small business owners. The clubs are able to keep prices low...
stores in California became sites of conflict involving a large number of political activist groups who had gradually become aware of their rights under Pruneyard. In 1998, Costco's management imposed several restrictions, including a complete ban on soliciting at stand-alone stores, a rule that no group or person could use Costco premises for free speech more than five days out of any thirty, and the complete exclusion of solicitors on the 34 busiest days of the year.
In 2002, these restrictions were upheld as reasonable by the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, and the Supreme Court of California denied review. The court found that Costco's stand-alone stores lacked the social congregation attributes of the multi-tenant shopping center at issue in Pruneyard. As for the restrictions on the stores in shopping centers, they were held to be reasonable because Costco had developed a strong factual record at trial which proved that hordes of unwanted solicitors had significantly interfered with its business operations—they had damaged its reputation, obstructed access to its stores, and traumatized Costco employees.
In 2007, the Supreme Court of California confronted the Pruneyard decision once more, in the context of a complex labor dispute involving San Diego's Fashion Valley Mall
Fashion Valley Mall
Fashion Valley Mall is an upscale, open-air shopping mall in Mission Valley in San Diego, California. The shopping center has over 1.7 million square feet of leasable floor area, making it the largest mall in San Diego and one of the largest in California. It is owned and managed by the Simon...
and the San Diego Union-Tribune. On December 24, 2007, a 4-3 majority of a sharply divided court once again refused to overrule Pruneyard and, instead, ruled that under the California Constitution, a union's right of free speech in a shopping center includes the right to hand out leaflets urging patrons to boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
one of the tenants. Justice Ming Chin
Ming Chin
Ming William Chin is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California. He was appointed to the California Supreme Court by Governor Pete Wilson on January 25, 1996, and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments and sworn in on March 1, 1996...
, in his dissent joined by Justices Marvin Baxter and Carol Corrigan
Carol Corrigan
Carol Ann Corrigan is an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court.- Background :Corrigan, the daughter of a newspaperman, grew up in the San Joaquin Valley city of Stockton, California. She graduated from Saint Mary's High School in Stockton, and attended the then women-only Catholic...
, expressed his sympathy with several of the most common critiques of the Pruneyard decision: "Pruneyard was wrong when decided. In the nearly three decades that have since elapsed, jurisdictions throughout the nation have overwhelmingly rejected it. We should no longer ignore this tide of history. The time has come for us to forthrightly overrule Pruneyard and rejoin the rest of the nation in this important area of the law. Private property should be treated as private property, not as a public free speech zone."
In 2010, the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District, in an opinion authored by then-Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye
Tani Cantil-Sakauye
Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye , a Filipina-American jurist, is the 28th Chief Justice of California. Nominated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for California's highest judicial office on July 22, 2010, and retained in office by California voters on November 2, 2010, she was sworn in on January 3, 2011...
(now Chief Justice of California), held that it is unconstitutional under Pruneyard for shopping mall giant Westfield Group to promulgate rules discriminating in favor of commercial speech in its malls and against noncommercial speech. The plaintiff had been detained by Westfield security after attempting to discuss the principles of his Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
faith with strangers at the Westfield Galleria at Roseville
Westfield Galleria at Roseville
Westfield Galleria at Roseville is an upscale shopping mall in Roseville, California, United States. Owned by the Westfield Group, it is located at the corner of Galleria Boulevard and Roseville Parkway at the junction of State Route 65 and Interstate 80.-History:An early plan considering building...
.
External links
- Cornell University Collection – U.S. Supreme Court decision
- California Continuing Education of the Bar Collection – California Supreme Court decision
- California Constitution from Official California Legislative Information Site – Article 1, Declaration of Rights (of which Section 2 was challenged in Pruneyard)