Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins is a U.S. Supreme Court case that dealt with the First Amendment right to free speech and the right to document and distribute information on private property.
The case centered around a group of high school students distributing political leaflets in a privately-owned shopping center in California. The shopping center’s management sought to have the students removed, arguing that they were trespassing on private property.
The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the students, stating that the First Amendment right to free speech applies to private property in certain circumstances. The Court found that the shopping center, as a “public forum,” could not prohibit the students from exercising their free speech rights on the property.
The case established that private property owners can’t prohibit individuals from expressing their views in a place that has become a “public forum” – a place that is open to the public for expressive activities.
This case has significance for the free press because it established that private property owners can’t restrict the free press from reporting on news and events that happen in a public forum; it also means that the press has the right to document news and events even in private property as long as the property is open to the public and it has become a public forum.
This case has been widely cited in subsequent court cases involving free speech and the press. It has helped to establish the principle that individuals and the press have the right to express themselves on private property, which has become a public forum.
About this article.
The Pruneyard Shopping Center. It is a 250,000 sq ft open-air shopping center located in Campbell, California, at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and Bascom Avenue, just east of State Route 17. Wikipedia
Additional reading:
- https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/583/pruneyard-shopping-center-v-robins
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruneyard_Shopping_Center_v._Robins
- https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/447/74/
- https://www.oyez.org/cases/1979/79-289
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