Venue: |
Ct. App. 9th cir.
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Facts: |
Seattle publishes a pamphlet allowing voters to meet the candidates, but
candidates are not allowed to discuss the opponent. Cogswell talks
about McIver, his opponent. |
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Posture: |
District court finds for plaintiff. |
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Issue: |
Is this an unconstitutional restriction, given that the pamphlet is
a limited public forum? |
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Holding: |
No. Reversed. |
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Rule: |
In a limited public forum, the restriction only violates 1A if it
is unreasonable. A state can restrict access to a limited
public forum as long as this is done reasonably, and the restriction
doesn't discriminate against speakers based on their viewpoint. |
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Reasoning: |
The government may not regulate speech based on its content, but it
can exclude speech outside the scope of the forum hosting it.
A non-public forum by definition is not dedicated to general
debate. |
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Dicta: |
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