Free Speech At Shopping Centers Essays - , Term Papers

Free Speech At Shopping Centers Contents I. Thesis Statement 1 II. Shopping Centers & Organizations Definitions . 1-2 III. First Amendment Definitions 2 IV. Evolution of Shopping Centers Regional Shopping Centers .. 2-3 V. Case Studies Pruneyard v. Robins 4-5 NJ Coalition Against War in the Middle East v. J.M.B. Realty ?. 5-6 VI. Impact Industry Reaction 7-9 VII. Future Litigation . 9 VIII. Conclusion .. 9-10 Thesis Statement Is an individual's right to freedom of speech, as granted by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, valid on private property, which is owned by someone else? Specifically, can an organization not associated with a shopping center use the shopping center's property to promote their cause? The U.S. Supreme Court has left the answer to this question up to the individual states. The majority of states, to date, have answered ?no?; however, several states, most notably California and New Jersey, have answered ?yes?. What is the basis for each State's decision and how do these decisions affect the shopping center industry? Shopping Centers & Organizations In order to understand how the courts' decisions affect the shopping center industry, we must first understand what a shopping center is and who the organizations are. As referred to in the two most notable court cases, Pruneyard v. Robins (?Pruneyard?) and NJ Coalition Against War in the Middle East et al. v. J.M.B. Realty Corp. et al. (?JMB?), a [regional] shopping center is defined as one that is between 300,000 square feet and 1,000,000 square feet in size and includes at least one large, over 100,000 square feet department store. During the 1990's, regional shopping centers have given way to super regional shopping centers. Super regional shopping centers are over 1,000,000 square feet in size and usually have four or more large department stores. For comparison in Arlington, Texas, The Parks at Arlington Mall and Six Flags Mall would be considered super regional malls while Festival Marketplace Mall would be considered a regional mall. The organizations that were involved in Pr uneyard and JMB consisted of peaceful political activists who were protesting Zionism and the Gulf War, respectively. As far as a shopping center is concerned, anyone not associated with operating the center i.e., employees, contractors, etc., or retailers/merchants would be considered a potential customer or part of an organization, depending on if their reason for coming to the mall was to shop. The shopping center, of course, wants everyone to be a customer since their primary business is commercial in nature. First Amendment The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, ?Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.? (Amendment I, 1) While this powerful amendment has very broad implications, it also has limitations. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Federal Constitution and its accompanying amendments give no general right to free speech in shopping centers since the centers' course of business is not ?state action?. State actions are those actions taken by local government entities or public schools. This limitation is what forces the U.S. Supreme Court to leave the decision of free speech in shopping centers up to the individual states, their state constitutions and police powers. Evolution of Shopping Centers It has been argued, and sometimes accepted, that today's regional shopping center has taken the place of yesterday's downtown business district. From 1972 to 1992 the number of regional and super regional malls in the nation increased by roughly 800% (National Research Bureau 1). The reason for this phenomenal increase is the migration of residents from the city to the suburbs and the accompanying relocation of retail from downtown to the ?burbs?. Shopping centers, by design, have made themselves one-stop destinations. Food, entertainment, apparel and other consumer goods are centralized in a climate-controlled environment. The downtown business district of old once afforded social and political organizations access to the masses. There is no question that the downtown streets and sidewalks were, and still are, public property. To make the distinction between a public downtown and private shopping center more confusing, it is not uncommon for a mall to have a U.S. Post Office as