City of Sunnyside v. Lopez

751 P.2d 313, 50 Wash. App. 786, 1988 Wash. App. LEXIS 54
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMarch 17, 1988
Docket7802-7-III
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 751 P.2d 313 (City of Sunnyside v. Lopez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Sunnyside v. Lopez, 751 P.2d 313, 50 Wash. App. 786, 1988 Wash. App. LEXIS 54 (Wash. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinions

McInturff, C.J.

We accepted discretionary review of a superior court judgment which affirmed Mary Lopez' district court conviction for criminal trespass.1 In her appeal, Ms. Lopez contends she had a free speech right to enter the premises of the Sunnyside Professional Center and distribute anti-abortion literature. We disagree. The center is not sufficiently open to the general public to lose its character as private property and entitle individuals to access for free speech activity. Thus, we affirm Ms. Lopez' conviction.

Ms. Lopez was one of several anti-abortionists cited in August and September 1985 for criminal trespass on the premises of the center, which is located on IV2 acres of land and has approximately 110 parking spaces and 11 tenants. The tenants include a lab, a pharmacy, and several medical [788]*788doctors. One of the doctors, Dwight Williamson, performs abortions.

The block on which the center is situated has a public sidewalk next to the street, and the center's parking lot abuts this public sidewalk. The interior side of the lot is adjacent to the center's three buildings which are connected by walkways. The walkways form a "T" within the space between the buildings. A breezeway or covered sidewalk runs along the outside perimeter of the center. The following diagram is based on the testimony and the illustrative exhibits which are part of the record:

[[Image here]]

The center's owner had posted seven "no trespassing" signs on the premises, one each at the four corners of the center and at the three entrances to the connecting walkways. The words "no trespassing" were in large type, and the following language appeared in smaller type:

Notice
The parking and sidewalk areas of the Sunnyside Professional Center are not public ways, and
[789]*789Are reserved for the exclusive use of the Sunnyside Professional Center, its owners and tenants, and for the
Members of the public transacting business with them.
The use of such areas for any other purpose must be by the permission of the center, its owner and tenants, subject to such rules and regulation as may be imposed upon such use, and
Permission to use said areas may be revoked at any time.
Failure to comply with the above rules and regulations and failure to seek permission to come upon the premises, may expose persons to the laws of criminal trespass in the state of Washington.
Please direct your inquiries to:
Dr. Peter J. Swofford
803 E. Lincoln Avenue
Sunnyside, Washington
Phone: 837-3933
For the rules and regulations regarding permissible use.

On August 27, 1985, Ms. Lopez was on the public sidewalk next to the center’s parking lot. Upon observing a man and a woman walking on the breezeway toward Dr. Williamson's office, she proceeded across the center's parking lot, and met the couple on the breezeway outside the doctor's office. According to Ms. Lopez:

I joined them there and asked thém if they would accept some of my literature.
I explained that we were there ... to offer women who were seeking abortions help with their pregnancy, whatever was driving them to destroy their baby. We were there to help them, whether it was financial, medical, housing, food . . .
And they stopped for a minute, and then the woman went on inside, and her husband . . . stayed out there, and he accepted my literature, and he was talking to me. I asked him if he would ... go into Dr. Williamson's office and ask his wife to come out and visit with me for a few minutes, and he said he would, and at this time, we were right at the corner of the pharmacy.

[790]*790At this point, one of Dr. Williamson's employees came out of his office and told Ms. Lopez to leave the property. The employee took a Polaroid picture of Ms. Lopez when she remained to wait for the husband. The police arrived and, on the basis of the photograph, cited Ms. Lopez for trespassing.

At the close of the City's case, Ms. Lopez unsuccessfully moved to dismiss on the basis that she was arrested for a misdemeanor not committed in the arresting officer's presence, contrary to RCW 10.31.100.2 At the close of all the evidence, the District Court concluded the center was "the functional equivalent of a community business block, or tantamount to public property." But is also concluded Ms. Lopez' activities on August 27, 1985, were beyond the reasonable exercise of free speech and, therefore, convicted her of trespass.

On review of Ms. Lopez' conviction, pursuant to RALJ 9.1, the Superior Court held the District Court had not committed any error of law which would affect the outcome of the case, although it criticized that part of the court's analysis which concluded the center was the functional equivalent of a community business block. The Superior Court also agreed with the District Court that the alleged violation of RCW 10.31.100 did not constitute grounds for dismissal of the trespass charge.

First, is the Sunnyside Professional Center sufficiently open to the public in general to entitle individuals to access for free speech activity?3

[791]*791The first amendment4 5to the United States Constitution protects free speech only from government imposed restraints. Hudgens v. NLRB, 424 U.S. 507, 47 L. Ed. 2d 196, 96 S. Ct. 1029 (1976). Nevertheless, state law may confer a right on individuals to speak or petition on private property if the exercise of the right does not unreasonably interfere with the constitutional rights of the owner. Pruneyard Shopping Ctr. v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74, 64 L. Ed. 2d 741, 100 S. Ct. 2035 (1980) (applying California law). The Washington court has held in a plurality opinion that article 1, section 5 of the Washington Constitution,5 which is substantially similar to the California constitutional speech guaranty, does not require state action. Alderwood Assocs. v. Washington Envtl. Coun., 96 Wn.2d 230, 243, 635 P.2d 108 (1981).

Ms. Lopez relies on Washington's constitution in asserting she had a free speech right to enter the center and distribute anti-abortion information. In determining whether her speech activity is protected, the court balances several factors:

The first is the use and nature of the private property.

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City of Sunnyside v. Lopez
751 P.2d 313 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
751 P.2d 313, 50 Wash. App. 786, 1988 Wash. App. LEXIS 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-sunnyside-v-lopez-washctapp-1988.