On December 1, the 9th circuit issued its opinion in Dietrich v John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 06-17135. The issue was whether petitioning should still be allowed on public sidewalks, when a private organization has rented a public square that abuts those public sidewalks. The decision says that just because a private organization has taken temporary control (for a day, or a weekend) of a public space, that does not mean the public space is no longer available for First Amendment activity.

The decision acknowledges that the private organization may have an interest in making it plain that it is not associated with whatever individual or group is petitioning, but says if that is a concern, the private organization is free to post a sign saying it is not associated with the petitioning. In this case, the petitioners were working on a recall petition, and the public sidewalks and public square had been temporarily rented out to the “Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off.” The decision commented that it was unlikely that any passerby would assume the recall petition is associated with the Cook-Off.