Right to Leaflet at Shopping Center, Commonwealth v. Collins; Collins v. Lebo
Rich Collins was a candidate for the 57th District House of Delegates seat in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. In May, he spent some time handing out leaflets at various shopping center parking lots. He did not have any trouble at most of these places, but at one shopping center, the manager and owner came out to ask him to leave. He refused, and was arrested for trespassing. Collins feels that this action violated his free speech rights. He is particularly concerned that as private property owners, the mall owners appear to have carte blanche to exclude speakers on a discriminatory basis. The highest courts of several other states have held that their state constitutions protect the right to free expression at privately owned shopping centers. We filed a lawsuit against the shopping center claiming that the Virginia Constitution also protects such speech. In June 2006, the circuit court dismissed the case, holding that the Virginia Constitution does not protect free speech on private property. The Virginia Supreme Court declined our request to review the case on February 23, 2007.
