Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

City Attorney Says Mayor and Council Can't Censor City Hall Lobby Exhibits

Can San Diego's mayor and city council arbitrarily deny someone exhibit space in the lobby of city hall?

No, says City Attorney Jan Goldsmith in a May 4 legal opinion that suggests the city may have opened a Pandora's Box when it started allowing private groups to install lobby exhibits without the council having decided first on a policy regarding who gets to display what where.

"At this time, without an existing policy and given that the City has opened the exhibit space to the public, the City’s ability to deny a request for a display is very limited," says Goldsmith's memo.

"The City can prohibit unprotected speech (e.g., obscene or defamatory material) or reasonably regulate the manner in which materials are displayed (e.g., to not block walkways). "

But, warns Goldsmith, "Courts will invalidate regulations restricting speech if the government’s stated purpose for the regulations is merely a pretext for censorship."

The city attorney continues:

"There is no written policy that governs the exhibit space.

"A person or organization seeking to display an exhibit completes the City’s 'Request for Lobby Display' form with basic information including the title of the display and the number of items to be displayed and submits the form to the City for approval.

"The City permits one display at a time. Examples of past displays include displays sponsored by City departments, displays by civic organizations, and displays by local amateur artists."

But, adds Goldsmith, "by opening the exhibit space to the public as a place for expressive activity, the City has created a 'public forum,'" and therefore must obey the free speech provisions of the First Amendment.

If the council wants to ban content it thinks would inspire illegal activity, "the speech must be directed toward inciting or producing imminent lawless action, and be likely to produce such action."

"For example, a policy that prohibited advertising in bus shelters that 'might be interpreted as condoning or soliciting any unlawful act or conduct' was overbroad and likely unconstitutional."

Concludes Goldsmith: "We strongly recommend that the City examine its practice of open access to the lobby exhibit space and adopt a policy for the use of the space to avoid problems with administering the space in the future."

"Such a policy could impose content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions such as, for example, setting specific hours for the display, limiting the time period for the display, ensuring compliance with fire and building codes.

"Such a policy should also clearly prohibit unprotected speech."

The opinion doesn't say if a specific exhibitor's request sparked the mayor and council's query.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Gonzo Report: Three nights of Mission Bayfest bring bliss

“This is a top-notch production.”

Can San Diego's mayor and city council arbitrarily deny someone exhibit space in the lobby of city hall?

No, says City Attorney Jan Goldsmith in a May 4 legal opinion that suggests the city may have opened a Pandora's Box when it started allowing private groups to install lobby exhibits without the council having decided first on a policy regarding who gets to display what where.

"At this time, without an existing policy and given that the City has opened the exhibit space to the public, the City’s ability to deny a request for a display is very limited," says Goldsmith's memo.

"The City can prohibit unprotected speech (e.g., obscene or defamatory material) or reasonably regulate the manner in which materials are displayed (e.g., to not block walkways). "

But, warns Goldsmith, "Courts will invalidate regulations restricting speech if the government’s stated purpose for the regulations is merely a pretext for censorship."

The city attorney continues:

"There is no written policy that governs the exhibit space.

"A person or organization seeking to display an exhibit completes the City’s 'Request for Lobby Display' form with basic information including the title of the display and the number of items to be displayed and submits the form to the City for approval.

"The City permits one display at a time. Examples of past displays include displays sponsored by City departments, displays by civic organizations, and displays by local amateur artists."

But, adds Goldsmith, "by opening the exhibit space to the public as a place for expressive activity, the City has created a 'public forum,'" and therefore must obey the free speech provisions of the First Amendment.

If the council wants to ban content it thinks would inspire illegal activity, "the speech must be directed toward inciting or producing imminent lawless action, and be likely to produce such action."

"For example, a policy that prohibited advertising in bus shelters that 'might be interpreted as condoning or soliciting any unlawful act or conduct' was overbroad and likely unconstitutional."

Concludes Goldsmith: "We strongly recommend that the City examine its practice of open access to the lobby exhibit space and adopt a policy for the use of the space to avoid problems with administering the space in the future."

"Such a policy could impose content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions such as, for example, setting specific hours for the display, limiting the time period for the display, ensuring compliance with fire and building codes.

"Such a policy should also clearly prohibit unprotected speech."

The opinion doesn't say if a specific exhibitor's request sparked the mayor and council's query.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

City Attorney Says Snapdragon Deal Void

Next Article

Mayor Faulconer said it was okay

City Attorney Goldsmith goes to court tomorrow
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader