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PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins

The 1980 U.S. Supreme Court case that began with high school students petitioning at the Pruneyard.

In the late 1970s the shopping center was drawn into a free-speech dispute with local high school students. On June 9, 1980, the Supreme Court upheld California’s rule that people may peacefully exercise free speech in the parts of private shopping centers regularly open to the public, subject to reasonable rules.

The case also stands for the principle that a state’s constitution may give its citizens broader rights than the federal one.

Sources

Questions people ask

What did the PruneYard case decide?

That California may protect peaceful free speech in the public areas of private shopping centers under its own constitution.

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