Today the Free Enterprise Forum released an Amicus Curie brief in support of private property rights. I wrote about this case here and here.
The Amicus Curie brief fully supports the right to free speech but contends such a right does not supercede the right of a property owner to control his property. “The issue in this case is not whether the candidate has the plaintiff has a right to speak out about his candidacy, or the candidacy of others…The issue in this case is not the right to speak, but the location at which he can engage in that speech†according to the brief.
Saying that someone’s property rights (in this case, Shoppers’ Worlds’) are less valuable than others’ is simply an untenable position.
The full press release is here or below and the brief can be found at the FEF’s website (PDF).
Side note from today’s C-Ville –
All’s well that’s Orwell
Whether you agree with their politics, you’ve got to hand it to the right-wingers for one thing—branding. Today the Free Enterprise Forum released a report en-couraging the City of Charlottesville to build the Meadowcreek Parkway with a roundabout at the intersection of the U.S. 250 Bypass and McIntire Road, instead of waiting to build a federally funded grade-separated interchange there. The report, funded by the Forum, is called “Review of Reasonableness.†You say you don’t agree with the report? What are you, unreasonable? Why do you hate reason? (bolding mine)
Ha.
Update: The Daily Progress has a story today.
Technorati Tags: albemarle, charlottesville, politics
September 27, 2005
Free Enterprise Forum Enters Property Rights Case
Charlottesville , VA – Lawyers for The Free Enterprise Forum filed a friend of the court brief today in the Collins v. Shoppers World property rights case. The brief, answering a suit brought by the American Civil Liberty Union of Virginia and The Rutherford Institute, seeks to reaffirm the private property rights of commercial real estate owners.
The initial suit concerns Richard C. Collins unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination for Virginia House of Delegates. On May 7th, Collins was distributing campaign literature outside of the Whole Foods store in the Shopper’s World shopping center. After being asked by management several times to cease this activity, Albemarle County Police Department was contacted. Collins was arrested for trespassing.
The Amicus Curie brief fully supports the right to free speech but contends such a right does not supercede the right of a property owner to control his property. “The issue in this case is not whether the candidate has the plaintiff has a right to speak out about his candidacy, or the candidacy of others…The issue in this case is not the right to speak, but the location at which he can engage in that speech†according to the brief.
“The Free Enterprise Forum is committed to the Freedom of Speech but the plaintiff goes too far in this case claiming the shopping center, which is open to the public, is therefore a public space,†said Neil Williamson, Executive Director of the Free Enterprise Forum, “A property owner does not surrender all of their property rights to the public merely because the property is open to the public. I fear this is a slippery slope indeed,†Mr. Williamson added.
The Free Enterprise Forum is a privately funded public policy think tank located in Albemarle County . The full legal brief can be found here.