Opinion ID: 779937
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Public Forum Doctrine

Text: 20 Under the prevailing constitutional framework, speech restrictions imposed by the government on property that it owns are analyzed under a forum based approach. Lee, 505 U.S. at 678, 112 S.Ct. 2701; see also Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Def. & Educ. Fund, Inc., 473 U.S. 788, 797, 799-800, 105 S.Ct. 3439, 87 L.Ed.2d 567 (1985); Perry Educ. Ass'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass'n, 460 U.S. 37, 44-46, 103 S.Ct. 948, 74 L.Ed.2d 794 (1983); N.Y. Magazine v. Metro. Transp. Auth., 136 F.3d 123, 128 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 824, 119 S.Ct. 68, 142 L.Ed.2d 53 (1998). As a general matter, the government is permitted to exercise control over the public's use of government-owned property for expressive purposes, and the degree of control permitted depends upon the nature of the property and the speech restrictions imposed thereon. See Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 797, 799-800, 105 S.Ct. 3439; N.Y. Magazine, 136 F.3d at 128. 21 The first category of property is the traditional public forum, which has been defined as a forum that has traditionally been available for public expression, Lee, 505 U.S. at 678, 112 S.Ct. 2701, and has as a principal purpose ... the free exchange of ideas. Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 800, 105 S.Ct. 3439; see also id. at 802, 105 S.Ct. 3439 (Traditional public fora are those places which by long tradition or by government fiat have been devoted to assembly and debate. (internal quotation marks omitted)). The classic examples of traditional public fora are streets, sidewalks, and parks, which are properties that `have immemorially been held in trust for the use of the public, and, time out of mind, have been used for purposes of assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens, and discussing public questions.' Perry, 460 U.S. at 45, 103 S.Ct. 948 (quoting Hague v. CIO, 307 U.S. 496, 515, 59 S.Ct. 954, 83 L.Ed. 1423 (1939)); see also Gen. Media Communications, Inc. v. Cohen, 131 F.3d 273, 278 (2d Cir.1997), cert. denied, 524 U.S. 951, 118 S.Ct. 2367, 141 L.Ed.2d 736 (1998). See, e.g., Hague v. CIO, 307 U.S. 496, 515-16, 59 S.Ct. 954, 83 L.Ed. 1423 (1939) (streets and parks); Frisby, 487 U.S. at 480-81, 108 S.Ct. 2495 (city and residential streets); United States v. Grace, 461 U.S. 171, 179-80, 103 S.Ct. 1702, 75 L.Ed.2d 736 (1983) (sidewalks surrounding the Supreme Court); Capitol Square Review & Advisory Bd. v. Pinette, 515 U.S. 753, 757-58, 761, 115 S.Ct. 2440, 132 L.Ed.2d 650 (1995) (plaza surrounding state capitol). 22 Content-based restrictions on speech in traditional public fora are subject to strict scrutiny. See Perry, 460 U.S. at 45, 103 S.Ct. 948. Such restrictions must serve a compelling government interest and be narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. See id. The government may, however, impose content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions on speech in a traditional public forum so long as those restrictions are narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest, and leave open ample alternative channels of communications. Id. 23 The second category of government-owned fora is the designated public forum, which is a non-public forum that the government has opened for all types of expressive activity. See Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 802, 105 S.Ct. 3439. As is the case with traditional public fora, restrictions on speech in designated public fora are constitutional only if they are content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions that are (1) necessary to serve a compelling state interest and (2) narrowly drawn to achieve that interest. Id. at 800, 105 S.Ct. 3439. 24 A subset of the designated public forum, the limited public forum, exists where the government opens a non-public forum but limits the expressive activity to certain kinds of speakers or to the discussion of certain subjects. N.Y. Magazine, 136 F.3d at 128 n. 2 (internal quotation marks omitted). A limited public forum is created only where the government makes its property generally available to a certain class of speakers, as opposed to reserving eligibility to select individuals who must first obtain permission to gain access. Ark. Educ. Television Comm'n v. Forbes, 523 U.S. 666, 679, 118 S.Ct. 1633, 140 L.Ed.2d 875 (1998). Examples of limited public fora include state university meeting facilities opened for student groups, see Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263, 267, 102 S.Ct. 269, 70 L.Ed.2d 440 (1981), open school board meetings, see City of Madison Joint Sch. Dist. No. 8 v. Wis. Employment Relations Comm'n, 429 U.S. 167, 174-76, 97 S.Ct. 421, 50 L.Ed.2d 376 (1976), city-leased theaters, see South-eastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad, 420 U.S. 546, 555-56, 95 S.Ct. 1239, 43 L.Ed.2d 448 (1975), and subway platforms opened to charitable solicitations, see Young v. N.Y.C. Transit Auth., 903 F.2d 146, 161-62 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 984, 111 S.Ct. 516, 112 L.Ed.2d 528 (1990). 25 In limited public fora, strict scrutiny is accorded only to restrictions on speech that falls within the designated category for which the forum has been opened. See Travis v. Owego-Apalachin Sch. Dist., 927 F.2d 688, 692 (2d Cir.1991); Fighting Finest, Inc. v. Bratton, 95 F.3d 224, 229 (2d Cir.1996). Thus, in a limited public forum, government is free to impose a blanket exclusion on certain types of speech, but once it allows expressive activities of a certain genre, it may not selectively deny access for other activities of that genre. Travis, 927 F.2d at 692. As to expressive uses not falling within the limited category for which the forum has been opened, restrictions need only be viewpoint neutral and reasonable. See N.Y. Magazine, 136 F.3d at 128 n. 2; Gen. Media, 131 F.3d at 278 n. 6; Deeper Life Christian Fellowship, Inc. v. Bd. of Educ., 852 F.2d 676, 679-80 (2d Cir.1988). 26 The third category consists of all remaining public property, that is, property that the government has not opened for expressive activity by members of the public. See Lee, 505 U.S. at 678-79, 112 S.Ct. 2701. The government may restrict speech in non-public fora subject only to the requirements of reasonableness and viewpoint neutrality. See Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 800, 105 S.Ct. 3439; N.Y. Magazine, 136 F.3d at 128. Examples of non-public fora include airport terminals, see Lee, 505 U.S. at 685, 112 S.Ct. 2711, military bases and restricted access military stores, see Greer v. Spock, 424 U.S. 828, 838, 96 S.Ct. 1211, 47 L.Ed.2d 505 (1976); Gen. Media, 131 F.3d at 280, jailhouse grounds, see Adderley v. State of Florida, 385 U.S. 39, 45, 47-48, 87 S.Ct. 242, 17 L.Ed.2d 149 (1966), and the Meadowlands Sports Complex, see Int'l Soc'y for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. N.J. Sports & Exposition Auth., 691 F.2d 155, 161 (3d Cir.1982). 27 The public forum doctrine raises particular challenges in a case such as this, where the plaintiff seeks to classify as a traditional public forum a public place that does not easily meet the historic definition of such a forum. 8 Nevertheless, in applying the public forum doctrine to the facts of this case, we do not view the tripartite approach as a straightjacket, but instead as a useful means of analyzing the parties' competing interests, informed by such factors as the location, use, and purpose of the property in question. Indeed, while it has been observed that traditional public fora are not expressly designed to accommodate all forms of speech, see Lee, 505 U.S. at 696, 112 S.Ct. 2711 (Kennedy, J., concurring in judgment), common to those types of properties deemed to be traditional public fora is that the open access and viewpoint neutrality commanded by the [public forum] doctrine is compatible with the intended purpose of the property. Forbes, 523 U.S. at 673, 118 S.Ct. 1633 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Lee, 505 U.S. at 698, 112 S.Ct. 2711 (Kennedy, J., concurring in judgment) (stating that a traditional public forum exists if the objective, physical characteristics of the property at issue and the actual public access and uses that have been permitted by the government indicate that expressive activity would be appropriate and compatible with those uses). Accordingly, in addressing the Union's argument that the Plaza is a traditional public forum, we will inquire not only whether the Plaza falls within those categories of property historically deemed to be traditional public fora, but also whether it is the type of property that should be so classified given its physical characteristics, the objective ways in which it is used, and the City's intent in constructing and opening it to the public. See, e.g., Kokinda, 497 U.S. at 727, 110 S.Ct. 3115. 28