Q: I was petitioning at a Target store and was asked to leave. I went to the police department and was told that I have a right to be there, but they can tell me when to set up. I then went back, and Target security said they would call the police. The police who came out were from a different municipality and they said that Target could make a citizen’s arrest if I did not leave. The next week I went back to the manager and politely asked if I could set up there, and was told that they have a no-solicitation policy. I know all the court cases, but if I go back and Target does arrest me, what happens next? What is involved in a citizen’s arrest? Is it the same as a regular arrest? (ie. do I have to be bailed out, etc.?) Do I have an open-and-shut case with them or will this be a long court procedure? Thank you for your help concerning this.
A: First, by way of background, in 1979 the California Supreme Court said that the free speech provisions of the California constitution– which are more expansive than those of the federal constitution — protect “reasonably exercised” speech and petitioning activities in privately owned shopping centers. Robins v. Pruneyard Shopping Center, 23 Cal. 3d 899, 910 (1979). In more recent years, though, California courts have narrowed the reach of Pruneyard, particularly with respect to single-tenant shopping areas.
In 1999, a Trader Joe’s store in Santa Rosa obtained a preliminary injunction against individuals gathering petition signatures on the property. Trader Joe’s Company v. Progressive Campaigns, Inc., 73 Cal. App. 4th 425 (1999). The court that upheld the injunction said that although a stand-alone store like Trader Joe’s has opened itself to the public, it has not invited the public to congregate there or do anything other than shop for food and that the store was therefore not the kind of public forum that property owners must yield to free speech activities like petitioning.
Subsequent decisions considering petitioning and related free speech rights at stand-alone retail establishments followed this reasoning and allowed the property owners to significantly restrict speech activities. See Costco Companies, Inc. v. Gallant, 96 Cal. App. 4th 740 (2002); Albertson’s, Inc. v. Young, 107 Cal. App. 4th 106 (2003); Van v. Target Corp., 155 Cal. App. 4th 1375 (2007).
As to your specific questions, distinguishing between a citizen’s arrest and a regular arrest is beyond the scope of the expertise we can offer through this service and would seem to require familiarity with California criminal procedure. In addition, although the general background above may be useful to you in determining how strong your case would be, but we can’t evaluate your case or give you any specific legal advice through this service.