Adderley v. Florida (p. 1482)

 Demonstration at non-public area of county jail.  About 200 demonstrators went first to the jail door entrance and then moved to the jail driveway and an adjacent grassy area upon the jail premises. 385 U.S. at 44-45. Demonstrators arrested for trespass.  Court upholds convictions:  “The State, no less than a private owner of property, has power to preserve the property under its control for the use to which it is lawfully dedicated.” (p. 1483) "The United States Constitution does not forbid a State to
control the use of its own property for its own lawful nondiscriminatory purpose." Id.

Justice Holmes prevails when government property is not a forum of any kind; Justice Roberts’ views prevail in public fora. See casebook p. 1460.

Douglas dissents.  First Amendment should protect the right to petition at a jailhouse for a redress of grievances. 

What do you think?   

The sidewalk in front of the jailhouse is a public forum and thus an appropriate place to protest. Think about the state prison down on Highway 2. Where should protests take place?

Speech in a non-public forum can be regulated under a mere reasonableness standard, so long as the restrictions imposed are viewpoint-neutral.       

Law school could schedule Room 113 for an open discussion of, say, the law school’s admission policies.  This is content-based – someone who wished to complain about student parking would be ruled out of order – but since this is a non-public forum the policy would easily be upheld under a reasonableness policy.

Query – suppose the Moderator would not allow opponents of affirmative action in admissions to speak?  Viewpoint-based?