Lee v. International Society For Krishna Consciousness, Inc

Decision Date26 June 1992
Docket NumberNo. 91-339,91-339
Citation120 L.Ed.2d 669,505 U.S. 830,112 S.Ct. 2709
PartiesWalter LEE, Superintendent of Port Authority Police, Petitioner, v. INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS, INC., et al
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

PER CURIAM.

For the reasons expressed in the opinions of Justice O'CONNOR, Justice KENNEDY, and Justice SOUTER, see post, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 2711, --- L.Ed.2d ---- (O'CONNOR, J., concurring in No. 91-155 and concurring in judgment in No. 91-339), post, 112 S.Ct., at 2711 (KENNEDY, J., concurring in judgment), and post, 112 S.Ct., at 2715 (SOUTER, J., concurring in judgment in No. 91-339 and dissenting in No. 91-155), the judgment of the Court of Appeals holding that the ban on distribution of literature in the Port Authority airport terminals is invalid under the First Amendment is

Affirmed.

Chief Justice REHNQUIST, with whom Justice WHITE, Justice SCALIA and Justice THOMAS join, dissenting.

Leafletting presents risks of congestion similar to those posed by solicitation. It presents, in addition, some risks unique to leafletting. And of course, as with solicitation, these risks must be evaluated against a backdrop of the substantial congestion problem facing the Port Authority and with an eye to the cumulative impact that will result if all groups are permitted terminal access. Viewed in this light, I conclude that the distribution ban, no less than the solicitation ban, is reasonable. I therefore dissent from the Court's holding striking the distribution ban.

I will not trouble to repeat in detail all that has been stated in No. 91-155, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Lee, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 2701, --- L.Ed.2d ----, describing the risks and burdens flowing to travelers and the Port Authority from permitting solicitation in airport terminals. Suffice it to say that the risks and burdens posed by leafletting are quite similar to those posed by solicitation. The weary, harried, or hurried traveler may have no less desire and need to avoid the delays generated by having literature foisted upon him than he does to avoid delays from a financial solicitation. And while a busy passenger perhaps may succeed in fending off a leafletter with minimal disruption to himself by agreeing simply to take the proffered material, this does not completely ameliorate the dangers of congestion flowing from such leafletting. Others may choose not simply to accept the material but also to stop and engage the leafletter in debate,...

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  • Mahgerefteh v. City of Torrance
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Central District of California
    • August 27, 2018
    ...except ... from a duly-licensed location" as a reasonable time/place/manner regulation); but see Lee v. Int'l Soc. for Krishna Consc. , 505 U.S. 830, 831, 112 S.Ct. 2709, 120 L.Ed.2d 669 (1992) (striking down a "ban on distribution of literature in ... airport terminals").5 The Court does n......
  • Loper v. New York City Police Dept.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York
    • September 30, 1992
    ...Circuit's distinction. In ISKCON I, ___ U.S. ___, 112 S.Ct. 2701, and Lee v. International Soc'y for Krishna Consciousness, Inc., ___ U.S. ___, 112 S.Ct. 2709, 120 L.Ed.2d 669 (1992) (per curiam) ("ISKCON II"),9 the Court was presented with a challenge to the Port Authority's regulations ba......
  • Warren v. Fairfax County
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit
    • June 9, 1999
    ...Lee, 505 U.S. 672, 686 (1992) (O'Connor, J., concurring in ISKCON v. Lee and concurring in the judgment in Lee v. Int'l Society of Krishna Consciousness, Inc., 505 U.S. 830 (1992)); United States v. Kokinda, 497 U.S. 720, 727 (1990) (plurality opinion). It is an open public thoroughfare bes......
  • Pro-Choice Network of Western New York v. Schenck
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit
    • September 28, 1995
    ... ... Cf. International Soc'y for Krishna Consciousness v. Lee, 505 U.S. 672, ----, 112 S.Ct ... or obstructions to exert a chilling effect on some members of society need not be ignored. The timid have a right to go about their business, ... ...
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    • United States
    • Capital University Law Review No. 38-3, May 2010
    • May 1, 2010
    ...freedom of speech . . . .”). 199 See City of Mentor-on-the-Lake , 272 F. Supp. 2d at 683. 200 See id. at 684. 201 505 U.S. 672 (1992). 202 505 U.S. 830 (1992) (per curiam). 203 See Int’l Soc’y for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. , 505 U.S. at 674–75; Lee , 505 U.S. at 830–31. 560 CAPITAL UNIVER......
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    • Federal Communications Law Journal Vol. 53 No. 2, March 2001
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    ...496, 515 (1939) (Roberts, J., concurring). (42.) Forbes, 523 U.S. at 677. (43.) See Lee v. Int'l Soc'y for Krishna Consciousness, Inc., 505 U.S. 830 Such focus on historical analysis is not unique to public forum jurisprudence. In determining whether judicial proceedings should be open to t......
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    • United States
    • Mercer University School of Law Mercer Law Reviews No. 46-3, March 1995
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    ...majority opinion is the law, so the somewhat artificial distinction between private and school-sponsored speech exists. 76. See 112 S. Ct. at 2709. 77. Id. at 2704. 78. Id. at 2709. 79. Tinker, 393 U.S. at 512. 80. Rivera, 721 F. Supp. at 1193; see also Slotterback, 766 F. Supp. at 288-89; ......
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