I am just wondering if the solicitor can be protected (for example: from being arrested) if he follows certain guidelines while soliciting on private property. Or, if the place of business can ask him to leave, and if he doesn't comply they can call the police and have him taken away. I am in California if that assists you in being more specific. Thank you.
Answer by Lil me
Yes, if a business asks you to leave and claims you are trespassing then they have the right to call the police and press charges, if not get you forcably removed from the premises.
Answer by CS
If you do what the sign or the employee asks then you don't have to worry about being arrested...
Answer by kyghostchaser2006
Private property owners have the right to determine how their property is used and there are issues such as liability where if someone gets injured on their property, the owner may be liable. In most states, businesses can order a customer off their property and have them arrested for trespassing for failure to do so. The only place you have any sense of protection is to comply with ordinances on public property.
Answer by John S
It is very important to identify that this is in California, because free speech rights are more highly protected there than elsewhere in the U.S.
In California, everyone has a free speech right applicable in places which are open to the public, such as shopping malls, though this does not extend to places not generally open to the public, like apartment complexes. (Robins v. Pruneyard Shopping Center (1979) 23 Cal. 3d 899; Golden Gateway Ctr. v. Golden Gateway Tenants Ass'n (2001) 26 Cal. 4th 1013.) This would certainly apply to political solicitation. However, commercial solicitation may not be covered by the right to free speech, and thus be subject to regulation by the property owner.
Of course, although the solicitation may not be prohibited, it can be regulated (for example, by requiring solicitors to be in a particular place), and obviously cannot interfere with the business involved. (See Lushbaugh v. Home Depot, Inc. (2001) 93 Cal.App.4th 1159.) However, other than such regulation, for the most part the owner of property open to the public cannot just demand that a non-commercial solicitor leave the property.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Orignal From: When soliciting on private property like a store, shopping center, mall, etc, does the solicitor have rights?
Post a Comment