Opinion ID: 767938
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether LSO alleges a generalized grievance

Text: 22 The Officials argue that, since the regulatory threats at issue were directed at liquor licensees and not LSO itself, LSO alleges a generalized grievance and not a particularized injury. It is, of course, well settled that a party with a generalized grievance about government conduct lacks standing to sue. See Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State, 454 U.S. 464, 475-76 (1982). We conclude, however, that this is not such a case. 23 In so doing, we are guided by the Supreme Court's decision in Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan, 372 U.S. 58 (1963). In Bantam, four New York book publishers sued the State of Rhode Island to challenge the practices of a state commission created to educate the public concerning literature it considered to be obscene or corrupting. See id. at 59-61. The commission had established a practice of notifying book distributors on its official stationery whenever books or magazines sold by the distributors were found objectionable by the commission. See id. at 61. The notice typically contained a reminder to the distributor of the commission's duty to bring purveyors of obscenity to the attention of the Attorney General. See id. at 62. The particular bookseller involved in the Bantam case would then immediately stop distributing the listed publications, refuse to fill orders for the books, retrieve unsold copies already in bookstores, and return unsold copies to the publishers. See id. at 63. The distributor testified that he cooperated with the commission in order to avoid some sort of a court action. Id. 24 Even though the actions of Rhode Island were directed at the distributors and not the publishers, the Court harbored no doubts concerning the publishers' standing to bring suit. The Court explained that, even though the commission's letters were sent to distributors and not publishers, and the commission did not purport to regulate the publishers, the publishers had suffered a palpable injury because circulation of their books was impaired. Id. at 64 n.6. The Court emphasized that the publishers did not stand as mere proxies arguing another's constitutional rights, because the publishers had a right to circulate their books and this right was implicated by the commission's activities. Id. Finally, the Court noted that pragmatic considerations played a role in its standing inquiry, because a book distributor prevented from selling a few titles would probably not suffer enough economic harm to justify suing, while a publisher would. See id. The Court concluded that [u]nless [the publisher] is permitted to sue, infringements of freedom of the press may too often go unremedied. Id. 25 Here, the facts, and the policies implicated, are very similar to those in Bantam. LSO contends that the Officials censored its art exhibition by applying pressure and threats to a necessary conduit: the licensees whose facilities LSO must rent in order to hold its shows. 6 Thus, LSO alleges injury to its own constitutional rights. Moreover, like the book distributors in Bantam, none of the licensees involved in this case would be likely to litigate this issue simply because it is prevented from hosting a convention event or two. 26 We are not persuaded by the Officials' attempt to distinguish Bantam Books on the ground that the publishers in that case had suffered an actual injury--lost book sales--while LSO never suffered an injury because it ultimately was able Clearly LSO's standing is not defeated by the possibility that it could secure venues for its shows outside the State of California. [O]ne is not to have the exercise of his liberty of expression in appropriate places abridged on the plea that it may be exercised in some other place. Schneider v. New Jersey, 308 U.S. 147, 151-52 (1939). to hold its 1997 convention. LSO points out that it incurred various costs arising from the Officials' alleged interference with the 1997 convention, notwithstanding the fact that the convention was finally held. Moreover, it alleges that the prospect of future interference by the officials burdens its First Amendment rights. Given the particularized nature of the harms alleged, we do not believe the instant case is distinguishable from Bantam Books. Thus, we hold that LSO's claim does not allege a generalized grievance. 27