Q: I have a small group that would like to do a small Black Friday protest that would be focused on expressing gratitude and inviting passers-by to do the same (probably via posters, video messages, and large white boards) as an alternative to consumerism.
I would like to know where we can protest. We want to be somewhere near where heavy Black Friday shopping is going on, (like the main street in front of the mall, smaller streets in front of the mall, sidewalks in front of large shopping centers, parking lots, etc.) but I don’t know anything about where we can legally do this.
I would also like to know if writing things on the sidewalk (in sidewalk chalk) is allowed under any circumstances.
A: The very general answer to your question is that the First Amendment limits the ways speech can be restricted in public places.
In particular, the Supreme Court has called public streets “the archetype of a traditional public forum” because “‘[t]ime out of mind’ public streets and sidewalks have been used for public assembly and debate.” Snyder v. Phelps, 131 S. Ct. 1207, 1218 (2011).
Speech in public streets is still subject to “reasonable time, place, or manner restrictions,” however, which — very broadly speaking — means that restrictions reasonably necessary to achieve a legitimate government objective and that are not based on the content of the speech may be permitted. Id.
You might want to check local ordinances to see if there are any particular rules or regulations in your area as to how protests like the one you plan should be conducted.
Note, however, that sometimes such rules or regulations purport to impose restrictions that might not actually be constitutional. Still, checking for local guidance on both the protest and sidewalk-writing issues is probably a good place to start.
Holme Roberts & Owen LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to First Amendment Coalition hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.