Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robbins 447 U.S. 74 (1980)

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PRUNEYARD SHOPPING CENTER v. ROBBINS 447 U.S. 74 (1980)

hudgens v. nlrb (1976) had held that the first amendment did not compel private owners of shopping centers to permit their property to be used for expressive activity. In PruneYard, California's supreme court held that the state constitution required a shopping center owner to permit the collection of signatures on a petition. The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed. Justice william h. rehnquist, for the Court, concluded that the state law did not work an uncompensated taking of property. Nor did it violate the owner's First Amendment rights by compelling it to convey a message. Justice lewis f. powell, concurring, argued that under other circumstances an owner might have such a First Amendment right.

Kenneth L. Karst
(1986)