International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Rochford

585 F.2d 263
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedOctober 6, 1978
DocketNo. 77-1355
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 585 F.2d 263 (International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Rochford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Rochford, 585 F.2d 263 (7th Cir. 1978).

Opinion

SWYGERT, Circuit Judge.

This appeal presents First Amendment issues involving regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of the Department of [267]*267Aviation of the City of Chicago.1 The regulations apply to persons distributing literature or soliciting contributions at any of the three municipal airports. The appellants seek reversal of a district court order which found the regulations facially unconstitutional and which enjoined their enforcement. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

After this court’s decision in Chicago Area Military Project v. City of Chicago, 508 F.2d 921 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 992, 95 S.Ct. 1999, 44 L.Ed.2d 483 (1975),2 the Commissioner of Aviation, acting under the authority vested in him by the city municipal code, adopted formal regulations for all airports under his jurisdiction. Generally speaking, the regulations require that persons wishing to distribute literature or solicit contributions must register with the airport manager, are restricted to certain public areas, and during declared emergencies must cease their activities.3

The regulations became effective March 29, 1976. Thereafter this suit, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, was filed by the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, Inc. and Govinda Das on behalf of themselves and all Krishna Society members (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Krishna Society). The Krishna Society is a religious organization that requires its members to disseminate and sell its tracts and solicit contributions in public areas. The district court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, holding that the regulations were unconstitutional for a variety of reasons.4 The defendants (hereinafter referred to collectively as the City) appealed.

I

The City contends that the district court erred in several respects: first, by holding that the regulations are both vague and overbroad and vest too much discretion in the airport officials; second, by failing to consider the manner in which the regulations are being interpreted and administered; and third, by holding that access to administrative or judicial review is necessary. We shall treat each alleged error seriatim.

A

When a statute or regulation is challenged under the due process doctrine of vagueness, a court must look at the enactment from two angles: (1) whether it provides sufficient notice of what may not be done, and (2) whether it contains reasonably clear guidelines so as to prevent official arbitrariness or discrimination in its enforcement. Smith v. Goguen, 415 U.S. 566, 573, 94 S.Ct. 1242, 39 L.Ed.2d 605 (1974); Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 108, 92 S.Ct. 2294, 33 L.Ed.2d 222 (1972). Using these principles as a test, we proceed to a consideration of the challenged regulations.

Section 1 of the regulations states that “[pjersons authorized by law to distribute literature, or solicit contributions may do so only in public areas of Chicago airports,” but then excludes nine “public area's” along with any area “where persons are in' line at or before [the proscribed] areas . . .” The district court found several deficiencies in this section: first, [268]*268that the regulations were invalid for failure to specify whether the prohibited public areas referred to are located at Meigs, Midway, or O’Hare airport. We differ with that finding. For example, if one of the prohibited areas is “concourses A through K” and only O’Hare has concourses A through K, then that particular exclusion obviously applies only to O’Hare and not to the other airports.

Of more serious concern is the inclusion of the phrase “persons authorized by law” in the regulations. The court below found the words ambiguous. The City contends that the phrase need not be defined in the regulations because its meaning is clear; persons authorized by law are those who take part in protected First Amendment activities.5 We are unpersuaded. By not explaining who is “authorized by law,” the regulations are deficient. Persons of common intelligence would be required to guess at the phrase’s meaning and differ as to how the regulations should be enforced. Connally v. General Construction Co., 269 U.S. 385, 391, 46 S.Ct. 126, 70 L.Ed. 322 (1926). The language implies that there also áre persons who are not authorized by law to distribute literature or solicit contributions. Yet the regulations contain no guidelines to assist either the person who wishes to determine whether he is authorized by law or the official who is charged with the regulations’ enforcement.

The problem becomes even more critical when section 1 is viewed in conjunction with the registration requirements of section 2.6 When considered together, the two sections allow airport officials to exercise discretion in granting or denying a “permit” application on the basis of their interpretation of which persons are “authorized by law” to engage in protected activities.7 The regulations fail to include the requisite narrowly drawn, reasonable, and definite standards to guide those officials. Under the regulations, this discretionary power vested in the airport officials may therefore operate as a prior restraint on the exercise of First Amendment rights. Kunz v. New York, 340 U.S. 290, 294, 71 S.Ct. 312, 95 L.Ed. 280 (1951). Accordingly, section 1 of the regulations is void on its face for vagueness.

Several other deficiencies in the regulations noted by the district court warrant discussion. The fact that persons wishing to exercise their First Amendment rights are prohibited from doing so in certain specified otherwise “public areas” does not in and of itself present a problem of constitutional dimension. It is therefore necessary to examine the characteristics of the areas at issue to determine whether they are appropriate areas for the exclusion of First Amendment activities. The proscribed public areas are generally locations in which the airport officials are concerned about security measures (e. g., the hijack, search, and security areas), locations in which travelers become part of a captive audience (e. g., persons in line), or locations in which space is limited (e. g., doorways, escalators). In each instance we believe the City has valid concerns, namely, to expedite the processing of travelers, to maintain a free and orderly flow of traffic, and to [269]*269avoid disruption of normal airport activities. Therefore it is proper to exclude First Amendment activities from the enumerated areas. Such activities could conceivably interfere with the basic purpose of an airport. See generally Wolin v. Port of New York Authority, 392 F.2d 83 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 940, 89 S.Ct. 290, 21 L.Ed.2d 275 (1968).

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Bluebook (online)
585 F.2d 263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/international-society-for-krishna-consciousness-inc-v-rochford-ca7-1978.