Opinion ID: 562670
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Solicitation Restrictions under the First Amendment

Text: 122 As we turn to the district court's invalidation of the municipalities' solicitation restrictions on First Amendment grounds, we begin by noting a discrepancy between the trial court's disposition and our decision in Curtis v. Thompson, 840 F.2d 1291 (7th Cir.1988). In Curtis we rejected a real estate broker's constitutionally based attempt to obtain a preliminary injunction against the Illinois state non-solicitation statute, which is comparable to the municipal ordinances at issue here. 17 The similarity between the municipal ordinances at issue in this case and the state statute involved in Curtis might certainly lead us to expect that our holding in Curtis would control the outcome here. 123 An examination of Curtis reveals that our affirmance of the district court's rejection of the real estate broker's request for a preliminary injunction against the Illinois real estate solicitation statute was based upon the broker's failure to demonstrate a better than negligible chance of success on the question of the statute's constitutional invalidity. Curtis, 840 F.2d at 1296 n. 5. We began our First Amendment analysis with the recognition that the speech in which Curtis wishes to engage is primarily aimed at proposing a commercial transaction, and should thus be classified as 'commercial speech.'  840 F.2d at 1297 (citing Bolger v. Young's Drug Products Corp., 463 U.S. 60, 103 S.Ct. 2875, 77 L.Ed.2d 469 (1983)). While we recognized that the ban on real estate solicitation was content based, 840 F.2d at 1297, we noted the flexibility the Constitution permits a sovereign state in enacting content-based regulations on commercial speech: 124 In the area of non-commercial speech, content-based restrictions (such as the one at hand) are sustained only in the most extraordinary circumstances: 'The First Amendment forbids the government from regulating speech in ways that favor some viewpoints or ideas at the expense of others.' [Members of the City Council v.] Taxpayers for Vincent, [466 U.S. 789, 804, 104 S.Ct. 2118, 2128, 80 L.Ed.2d 772 (1984) ]. This is because such 'core' First Amendment speech has always been considered essential to our survival as a democratic society: 'Free speech concerning public affairs is more than self-expression; it is the essence of self-government.' Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 74-75, 85 S.Ct. 209, 215-16, 13 L.Ed.2d 125 (1964). By contrast, regulation of commercial speech based upon content is less problematic. Because of the greater potential for deception or invasions of privacy in the context of some advertising methods, content-based restrictions on commercial speech are more often upheld. 125 Curtis, 840 F.2d at 1297-98 (citations omitted). 126 We went on to apply the four-part test for determining the validity of a restriction on commercial speech contained in Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission, 447 U.S. 557, 100 S.Ct. 2343, 65 L.Ed.2d 341 (1980), commencing with the following quotation from Central Hudson: 127 In commercial speech cases, then, a four-part analysis has developed. At the outset, we must determine whether the expression is protected by the First Amendment. For commercial speech to come within the provision, it at least must concern lawful activity and not be misleading. Next, we ask whether the asserted governmental interest is substantial. If both inquiries yield positive answers, we must determine whether the regulation directly advances the governmental interest asserted, and whether it is not more extensive than is necessary to serve that interest. 128 447 U.S. at 566, 100 S.Ct. at 2351. Applying the Central Hudson test, we initially determined that Curtis' speech was protected as it concerns lawful activity and is not misleading. Curtis, 840 F.2d at 1298. In analyzing the interest involved, we noted the real estate broker's argument that the statute did not directly advance the state's interest in preventing inducements to sell real estate through appeals to fear of racial integration. But we refused to give these arguments controlling weight: 129 Curtis raises an interesting question when she questions whether the regulation does advance the government's interest in a meaningful way to prevent blockbusting, but this argument ignores another overriding interest the state of Illinois argues is served by the statute: the interest in insuring the privacy of the homeowner. In our view, that interest is more than sufficient to justify the limited curtailment of Curtis' right to speak to citizens in their homes. 130