Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California

Re: Laws regarding leafleting at public forums.

First we need to be clear on the meaning of the term "public forum," because this is a legal term of art. Not every place you might view as a public forum would qualify legally as such. If these events are taking place on private property -- even property to which the public is often invited -- it may not fit within the definition. California law defines "public forum" more broadly than does federal law or the law of most other states, but I would need to know specifically what type of places you have in mind before I could say whether they are public fora or not.

If the location is not a public forum, then the owners can essentially make any rules they want about leafletting. They can select specific candidates whose supporters are allowed and others whose supporters are forbidden, for example. They can ban leafletting entirely if they want to.

In a public forum there can only be reasonable restrictions as to the time, place and manner of your activities. It is reasonable, for example, to forbid leafletters from blocking the flow of traffic (e.g., if they all want to be in the same spot and shoppers are unable to walk around them) or from using large signs which prevent customers from seeing the merchants or their products. However, they also have to permit you to distribute your material in some reasonable manner.

A good example of time, place and manner restrictions may be found at most major airports, where individuals are allowed to solicit donations for various causes but are required to stay away from gates and out of the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic. The agencies which run the airports cannot forbid such activities but can make sure they do not interfere with the functioning of the airports themselves.

The same principle applies to leafletting in a public forum, but what will be considered a reasonable restriction will depend heavily on the specific nature of the location and the event going on.

It is not necessary for rules to be spelled out in advance, since there is no way to anticipate what kind of activities people will want to conduct. In the current recall campaign here in California, for example, there are over 135 candidates seeking the governor's office and I doubt that any organization or government body has plans in place to deal with supporters of so many candidates trying to get attention simultaneously in one place. The officials are allowed to make up rules on the spot to fit the circumstances as long as the rules are reasonable and are enforced in a reasonable way.

I hope that helps, even if it doesn't offer the kind of specific detail you might have wanted.