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New York City Transportation System Case Study

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Since there could be a possibility that begging can be protected by the First Amendment, the courts must use the forum-basis analysis to determine what fora the New York City Transit System fell under. There are three types of public fora for first amendment activities. These include traditional public fora, non-public fora, and designated public fora. Traditional public fora include streets, sidewalks, and parks, where expressive activity receives the greatest level of constitutional protection. Non-public fora is when the government may restrict expression in non-public fora such as military bases or the United States mailboxes, as long as the regulation of speech is reasonable and is not enacted by public officials merely because they oppose the speaker’s viewpoint. Lastly, the designated public fora consist of property that the State opens for public use as a place for expressive activity, such as municipal theaters and university meeting facilities. The Second Circuit characterized the New York City Subway System as a non-public forum because they completely banned begging and panhandling. “The Transit Authority regulation does not …show more content…

v. Lee case. In this case, the New York City Airport Authority prohibited begging and panhandling within airline terminals but permits solicitation outside of the airline terminals. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness challenged the airline regulations alleging that the regulation infringed upon their First Amendment rights. The district court granted summary judgment to the plaintiff stating that the regulation to ban solicitation was unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals reversed and determine that the terminal it is not a public forum because it was not open to the public. Therefore, the court determines that the terminals are not a public forum, and the prohibition of solicitation was

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