Constitutional Law

Calif. appeals court: Mall can't bar strangers from chatting

By By The Associated Press

ROSEVILLE, Calif. ? A suburban shopping mall's policy barring people from approaching strangers to chitchat has been found unconstitutional by a California appeals court. The court said that the rules would prohibit people from talking about the weather or offering directions to strangers.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal said on Aug. 11 that the rules at Roseville's Westfield Galleria violated the California Constitution's free-speech guarantee.

The mall prohibited individuals in its common areas from approaching people they didn't know to talk unless the conversation was about business involving the mall or its tenants. The case arose after mall officials issued a citizen's arrest of Matthew Snatchko, 27, a youth pastor who tried to talk to others at the mall about his Christian faith.

A store employee called security when Snatchko approached three young women who agreed to talk with him. When he refused to leave the mall, Snatchko was handcuffed and turned over to Roseville police.

When Snatchko appeared in court for arraignment, all charges were dropped. The Placer County District Attorney's Office agreed that Snatchko was "factually innocent," and a Superior Court judge took the unusual step of issuing a formal finding of factual innocence.

Snatchko sued Westfield, the Galleria's private security firm, and the officer who made the arrest.

Westfield argued that the rules protect tenants and customers by ensuring a safe and secure environment, preventing unruly gatherings and congestion and promoting convenience.

The mall's rules require people to submit written applications for permission to make such contacts at least four days in advance for mall management to review them.

The Galleria's senior general manager acknowledged in court that if a patron wanted to ask a stranger which team he was supporting in an upcoming Super Bowl game, he would need to fill out the application in advance.

Writing on behalf of the unanimous appellate panel in Snatchko v. Westfield LLC, Associate Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye concluded that the rules barred "peaceful, consensual, spontaneous conversations between strangers in common areas of the mall on topics unrelated to the ... mall."

Westfield spokeswoman Katy Dickey said the company was disappointed with the ruling.

"We are reviewing the court's decision and will consider our options ... including appeal to the California Supreme Court," she said in a prepared statement.

The appeals panel sent the case back to Placer Superior Court Judge Larry D. Gaddis for further proceedings.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on August 15, 2010 (boomark / email).