RICHARD W. ROBERTS, District Judge.
Plaintiffs challenge the constitutionality of an amended United States Postal Service ("USPS") regulation that prohibits collecting signatures for petitions, polls or surveys on certain USPS sidewalks, arguing that the restriction is overbroad because the regulation applies to a substantial number of postal sidewalks that are public forums. The parties conducted a survey of postal facilities in an attempt to quantify the extent of expressive activity on USPS sidewalks and have filed renewed cross-motions for summary judgment. Because material facts are not in dispute, the regulation no longer applies to exterior USPS sidewalks that are indistinguishable from public sidewalks, and the plaintiffs have not shown that the interior sidewalks to which the regulation still applies are public forums or that the regulation is unreasonable or void for vagueness, the defendant's motion will be granted and the plaintiffs' motion will be denied.
The background of this case is set out in Initiative & Referendum Inst. v. U.S. Postal Serv., 116 F.Supp.2d 65 (D.D.C. 2000) ("IRI I"), Initiative & Referendum Inst. v. U.S. Postal Serv., 297 F.Supp.2d 143 (D.D.C.2003) ("IRI II"), and Initiative & Referendum Inst. v. U.S. Postal Serv., 417 F.3d 1299 (D.C.Cir.2005) ("IRI III"). Briefly, USPS regulations restrict certain conduct on postal property. The relevant regulation had stated at the time this action was brought:
39 C.F.R. § 232.1(h)(1) (2002) (emphasis added). The underlined language, added in 1998, gave rise to this suit in which the plaintiffs challenge the regulation's application to exterior postal property. See IRI I, 116 F.Supp.2d at 67-68. After summary judgment was granted in favor of USPS on the grounds that the regulation was content neutral, promoted a significant governmental interest, and left open ample alternative channels of communication, IRI II, 297 F.Supp.2d at 147, the plaintiffs appealed. On appeal, the D.C. Circuit concluded that USPS' ban on soliciting signatures could not be upheld as a time, place, or manner restriction if applied to a public forum. IRI III, 417 F.3d at 1312. The court of appeals further concluded that a facial challenge did not require proof that all exterior postal properties constitute public forums. Rather, the regulation would be overbroad "if a substantial number of external postal properties constitute public forums." Id. at 1313. The court of appeals opined that it "seem[ed] likely that many urban post offices do [have Grace
Following the court of appeals' decision, USPS amended § 232.1(h)(1) and it now states:
39 C.F.R. § 232.1(h)(1) (2010) (emphasis added). USPS also modified § 232.1 such
Also after the remand, the parties conducted a survey of selected postal properties to determine the type and extent of expressive activity that takes place on various postal sidewalks. They sent questionnaires to the facility manager at each retail post office in twelve postal Districts,
(Def.'s Mem., Ex. B., Postmaster Questionnaire ¶¶ 3, 10.) For each type of sidewalk, the survey asked about the type and frequency of expressive activity.
The plaintiffs have moved for summary judgment, arguing that the amended
Summary judgment is appropriate where the record shows that "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2); see also Moore v. Hartman, 571 F.3d 62, 66 (D.C.Cir.2009). A party seeking summary judgment must provide the district court with a factual record sufficient to demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party may support its motion successfully if it "`inform[s] the district court of the basis for its motion, and identif[ies] those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.'" Frito-Lay, Inc. v. Willoughby, 863 F.2d 1029, 1032 (D.C.Cir.1988) (quoting Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548) (internal citation omitted).
Ordinarily, a litigant has standing to vindicate only his own constitutional rights. See Members of City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent, 466 U.S. 789, 796, 104 S.Ct. 2118, 80 L.Ed.2d 772 (1984). However, a plaintiff can seek to invalidate all enforcement of a law that abridges speech protected by the First Amendment—such that it cannot be applied to the plaintiff or to others—by "showing that [the] law punishes a `substantial' amount of protected free speech, `judged in relation to the statute's plainly legitimate sweep[.]'" Virginia v. Hicks, 539 U.S. 113, 118, 123 S.Ct. 2191, 156 L.Ed.2d 148 (2003) (quoting Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 615, 93 S.Ct. 2908, 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973)). Cf. New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747, 773, 102 S.Ct. 3348, 73 L.Ed.2d 1113 (1982) (concluding that statute with a "tiny fraction" of "arguably impermissible applications" was not overbroad). Facial invalidation is "strong medicine" and should be applied "only as a last resort." Broadrick, 413 U.S. at 613, 93 S.Ct. 2908.
Because "[n]othing in the Constitution requires the Government freely to grant access to all who wish to exercise their right to free speech on every type of Government property without regard to the nature of the property or to the disruption that might be caused by the speaker's activities[,]" the Supreme Court has
When categorizing a sidewalk that bears "apparent similarity to ones of the classic variety[,]" the government bears the burden of overcoming the presumption that the walkways are public forums by showing that they are "overwhelmingly specialized."
Regulations may restrict the time, place, and manner of expressive activity in a public forum only if such regulations are content-neutral, narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and
USPS has made this very modification. The regulation no longer prohibits signature gathering on postal property consisting of Grace sidewalks. See 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(a)(ii) (2010). Citing City of Mesquite v. Aladdin's Castle, Inc., 455 U.S. 283, 102 S.Ct. 1070, 71 L.Ed.2d 152 (1982), the plaintiffs argue that, even in light of this modification, "[i]n the absence of an injunction from this Court, the government remains free to amend its regulation at a later date to ban signature gathering ... on Grace sidewalks." (Pls.' Mem. at 5.) USPS claims that the modification to the regulation renders the challenge moot with respect to Grace sidewalks. (Def.'s Mem. of P. & A. in Opp'n to Pls.' Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. at 2-8.)
"`Federal courts lack jurisdiction to decide moot cases because their constitutional authority extends only to actual cases or controversies.'" Matthews v. District of Columbia, 675 F.Supp.2d 180, 187 (D.D.C.2009) (quoting Larsen v. U.S. Navy, 525 F.3d 1, 4 (D.C.Cir.2008)). A case becomes moot if it is "`impossible for the court to grant any effectual relief whatever to the prevailing party'" because "`there is no reasonable expectation that the wrong will be repeated[.]'" United States v. Philip Morris USA Inc., 566 F.3d 1095, 1135 (D.C.Cir.2009) (quoting City of Erie v. Pap's A.M., 529 U.S. 277, 287, 120 S.Ct. 1382, 146 L.Ed.2d 265 (2000)). However, voluntary cessation of wrongful conduct does not moot a case. United States v. W.T. Grant Co., 345 U.S. 629, 632, 73 S.Ct. 894, 97 L.Ed. 1303 (1953). A challenge to legislation is mooted upon the law's repeal unless there is "evidence indicating that the challenged law likely will be reenacted." Nat'l Black Police Ass'n v. District of Columbia, 108 F.3d 346, 349 (D.C.Cir.1997). In Aladdin's Castle, 455 U.S. at 288, 102 S.Ct. 1070, the Supreme Court considered whether a city ordinance was unconstitutionally vague. Before the court ruled on the issue, the city repealed the ordinance and claimed that the issue was moot. The court held that the city's repeal of the ordinance did not moot the issue because the city announced an intention to reenact the provision if the district court judgment holding the ordinance unconstitutionally vague were vacated. Id. at 289 n. 11, 102 S.Ct. 1070.
Here, unlike in Aladdin's Castle, the plaintiffs have not produced any evidence that USPS intends to re-amend the regulation at the termination of this litigation to again prohibit signature gathering on Grace sidewalks. USPS' changed position during this litigation as to whether the unamended regulation applied to Grace sidewalks (see Pls.' Mem. at 6 n. 2) is not
The plaintiffs further argue that there are a substantial number of Kokinda sidewalks that also constitute public forums, rendering the regulation facially invalid even if it does not apply to Grace sidewalks. (Pls.' Mem. at 6.) The Supreme Court conducted a forum analysis regarding a non-Grace postal sidewalk in United States v. Kokinda, 497 U.S. 720, 110 S.Ct. 3115, 111 L.Ed.2d 571 (1990) (plurality opinion). Kokinda involved a sidewalk outside a post office that led "only from the parking area to the front door of the post office." Id. at 727, 110 S.Ct. 3115. The plurality opinion in Kokinda, joined by four Justices, held that the post office sidewalk did "not have the characteristics of public sidewalks traditionally open to expressive activity." Id. Stating that "the location and purpose of a publicly owned sidewalk is critical" in determining whether it is a public forum, id. at 728-29, 110 S.Ct. 3115, the plurality held that the post office sidewalk was not a public forum because it was "constructed solely to provide for the passage of individuals engaged in postal business." Id. at 727, 110 S.Ct. 3115. Specifically, the sidewalk existed "solely to assist postal patrons to negotiate the space between the parking lot and the front door of the post office, not to facilitate the daily commerce and life of the neighborhood or city." Id. at 727-28, 110 S.Ct. 3115 (contrasting the sidewalk at issue with the "municipal sidewalk that runs parallel to the road in this case [and] is a public passageway"). However, "the split nature of the decision in Kokinda provides no definitive guidance on the forum status" of non-Grace postal sidewalks. IRI III, 417 F.3d at 1313 (internal quotation marks omitted).
Other courts also have analyzed the forum status of walkways at specific post office properties by considering their physical characteristics and their purposes. See, e.g., Jacobsen v. U.S. Postal Serv., 993 F.2d 649, 656 (9th Cir.1993) (relying on Kokinda's plurality to conclude that "federal sidewalks obviously separate from the municipal sidewalk and devoted to postal customers are nonpublic" forums). In Longo v. U.S. Postal Serv., 983 F.2d 9, 10-11 (2d Cir.1992), the Second Circuit addressed a challenge to § 232.1(h)(1)'s prohibition against campaigning on postal property. Longo relied on Kokinda's plurality opinion and concluded that an "interior postal walkway ... which was constructed solely for the purpose of assisting patrons of the post office to get from the parking lot to the front door of the post office" was a nonpublic forum. Id. at 11. Monterey County Democratic Central Comm. v. U.S. Postal Serv., 812 F.2d 1194, 1197 (9th Cir.1987), found a walkway that was "separated from the municipal sidewalks by the Post Office parking area" to be a nonpublic forum because the walkway "services postal patrons entering the building" and "is not a thoroughfare for passersby intent on other errands." United States v. Bjerke, 796 F.2d 643, 648 (3d Cir.1986), evaluated the forum status of postal walkways which were separated from the street by a parking lot and an exterior walkway. The court concluded that the areas near the entrances were not public forums because they "were not dedicated
The most complete analyses of the forum status of postal sidewalks have not merely considered the character and purpose of the sidewalk in question, but also have evaluated the extent to which expressive activity historically has taken place on the property. These cases suggest that a specialized sidewalk intended to facilitate postal business could be a public forum if, historically, it had been the site for a sufficiently large amount of expressive activity. See, e.g., Kokinda, 497 U.S. at 737, 110 S.Ct. 3115 (Kennedy, J., concurring) (stating that "there remains a powerful argument that, because of the wide range of activities that the Government permits to take place on this postal sidewalk, it is more than a nonpublic forum"); see also Henderson, 964 F.2d at 1182 (noting that while the government's dedication of "property to a use inconsistent with public assembly and debate ... precludes [its] classification as a public forum[,]" the government cannot establish such inconsistency merely by declaring and enforcing restrictions on speech on a property that has historically been a site for expressive activity). In Del Gallo v. Parent, 557 F.3d 58, 71-72 (1st Cir.2009), the First Circuit considered whether a postal sidewalk that was separated from the municipal sidewalk by a parking lot on one side and a grass-covered area on another side constituted a public forum. The court noted that the fact that the postal sidewalk touched the municipal sidewalk was not enough to conclude that the two walkways were indistinguishable because the two properties were "clearly separate[.]" Id. at 71. Del Gallo concluded that the walkway was a nonpublic forum because it "provide[d] customers access to the entry" to the post office and there was no evidence of past usage as a gathering place to promote "the free exchange of ideas." Id. at 71-72. United States v. Belsky, 799 F.2d 1485, 1489 (11th Cir.1986) also evaluated both the character of the sidewalk and whether there was a history of expressive activity on the sidewalk. The court found that, unlike the public sidewalks surrounding the building, "the ingress and egress walkways to the post office buildings are a nonpublic forum" because they "are intended to accommodate traffic to and from the post office for the conduct of postal business and have not traditionally been sites for expressive conduct." Id.
Here, the regulation at issue no longer applies to "sidewalks along the street frontage of postal property falling within the property lines of the Postal Service that are not physically distinguishable from adjacent municipal or other public sidewalks[.]" 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(a)(ii) (2010). Thus, the sidewalks to which the regulation still applies—which are by definition physically distinct from "classical variety" sidewalks—are not subject to the presumption that they are public forums. Cf. Henderson, 964 F.2d at 1182. USPS relies on the declaration of Frederick J. Hintenach, Manager of USPS's Customer Services Operations, Delivery and Retail Department, who is responsible for USPS standard operating policies and procedures, to establish that postal sidewalks have a specialized purpose. (Def.'s Renewed Mot. for Summ. J., Docket # 67, Ex. A ¶ 3, Ex. B ¶¶ 1, 3.) Hintenach states that parking lots, driveways, and postal owned walkways are intended to provide access to the post office for people conducting postal business.
At a minimum, therefore, a successful facial challenge to the amended regulation
However, even if it were possible to draw statistically valid conclusions from the parties' survey, the data do not allow for any meaningful conclusion to be made about the historical regularity of expressive activity on Kokinda sidewalks. The survey asked postal managers about expressive activity on the sidewalks of the postal office that they currently manage and on the sidewalks of each postal office that they had previously managed. (Def.'s Mem., Ex. B., Postmaster Questionnaire.) Although the survey asked for the dates that the managers served at each postal facility, the managers did not provide the dates on which expressive activity occurred, nor do the parties' experts draw conclusions about the dates on which reported expressive activity took place. These omissions prevent a determination that any of the various properties has been a site of expressive activity of sufficient historical regularity to be considered a public forum. See Del Gallo, 557 F.3d at 72 (rejecting plaintiff's argument that isolated examples of political election campaigning on Kokinda sidewalk allowed it to be considered a public forum). Although the plaintiffs argue that the survey reveals that there has been a decrease in expressive activity on postal sidewalks since the regulation's promulgation and implementation in 2000 (Pls.' Mem. at 10-11 ("[O]f the 1,623 postal managers who responded to this question, 18.1% reported observing at least some decline in expressive activity on postal sidewalks in that period, and 12.2% reported observing a `significant' decline.")), the survey asked about postal property sidewalks generally. Thus, the plaintiffs cannot rule out the possibility that any decline in expressive activity took place largely—or even solely—on Grace sidewalks.
Finally, the plaintiffs argue that "from a statistical standpoint, the Kokinda sidewalks in question were in fact indistinguishable from Grace sidewalks within the scope of the survey."
The plaintiffs argue on remand that the amended regulation is unreasonable because it permits the solicitation but prohibits the collection of signatures on postal property, and because 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(e), a separate provision of the regulation, prohibits disruptive activity that would interfere with postal customers entering or leaving the property. (Pls.' Mem. at 29-30.) "[T] he state may reserve [a nonpublic] forum for its intended purposes, communicative or otherwise, as long as the regulation on speech is reasonable and not an effort to suppress expression merely because public officials oppose the speaker's view." Perry Educ. Ass'n, 460 U.S. at 46, 103 S.Ct. 948. "The reasonableness of the Government's restriction of access to a nonpublic forum must be assessed in the light of the purpose of the forum and all surrounding circumstances." Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 809, 105 S.Ct. 3439. "A regulation is reasonable `when it is consistent with the [government's] legitimate interest in preserv[ing] the property ... for the use to which it is lawfully dedicated.'" IRI I, 116 F.Supp.2d at 73 (quoting Int'l Soc. for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Lee, 505 U.S. 672, 688, 112 S.Ct. 2701, 120 L.Ed.2d 541 (1992) (O'Connor, J., concurring) (alterations in original)). The unamended regulation at issue here previously was found to be reasonable, such that it "would withstand the minimal level of scrutiny applicable to regulations in a nonpublic forum[,]" since it was "consistent with USPS's need to preserve post office property for post office business." Id. at 75.
The court of appeals held that the unamended regulation's apparent ban on "pure solicitation—in the sense of asking postal patrons to sign petitions—even if the signatures themselves are to be collected off postal premises" was unreasonable but that construing the regulation not to prohibit "communications that promote the signing of petitions, polls, and surveys somewhere other than on Postal Service premises" would "cure the problem[.]" IRI III, 417 F.3d at 1314-17. USPS formalized this limiting construction—designed by the court of appeals for the very purpose of saving the regulation from unreasonableness—in the amended regulation, which now prohibits "collecting signatures" but not soliciting signatures. 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(h)(1) (2010). The amended regulation's shift from regulating soliciting signatures to regulating collecting signatures therefore saves the regulation from remaining unreasonable.
Moreover, § 232.1(e) does not render the signature collecting prohibition in § 232.1(h)(1) unreasonable. It is reasonable for USPS to adopt a regulation that attempts to prevent disruption before it occurs. See IRI I, 116 F.Supp.2d at 75 (stating that "USPS need not show actual disruption" and may instead "show merely the reasonable expectation of disruption" to restrict access to a nonpublic forum). Section 232.1(e) prohibits disruptive behavior on postal property, but it is not a perfect substitute for § 232.1(h)(1), which provides a mechanism for limiting disruption before it occurs.
Additionally, because USPS is regulating speech in a nonpublic forum, it does not have to demonstrate that the regulation is narrowly tailored to the government interest it seeks to achieve. Lee, 505 U.S.
The plaintiffs argue that the amended regulation's language limiting its application to Kokinda sidewalks is vague in three respects: 1) "it provides no substance to the phrase `physically distinguishable,' leaving it entirely to the discretion of the enforcing official[,]" 2) "it is unclear what sidewalks qualify as `along the frontage[,]'" and 3) it is unclear whether the exception "can encompass any non-perimeter sidewalks[.]" (Pls.' Mem. at 31.) "It is a basic principle of due process that an enactment is void for vagueness if its prohibitions are not clearly defined." Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 108, 92 S.Ct. 2294, 33 L.Ed.2d 222 (1972). A lack of precision in defining prohibited conduct would give enforcing officials "an impermissibly wide discretionary range in which to determine who is in violation." Cmty. for Creative Non-Violence v. Turner, 893 F.2d 1387, 1395 (D.C.Cir.1990). As a result, a vague statute that seeks to regulate activity protected by the First Amendment may unnecessarily chill the exercise of those activities. Gooding v. Wilson, 405 U.S. 518, 521, 92 S.Ct. 1103, 31 L.Ed.2d 408 (1972) (noting that "persons whose expression is constitutionally protected may well refrain from exercising their rights for fear of criminal sanctions provided by a statute susceptible of application to protected expression" and that the social value of constitutionally protected expression justifies allowing plaintiffs to challenge these statutes for vagueness even if they cannot demonstrate that the statute at issue regulates their own conduct). However, "perfect clarity and precise guidance have never been required even of regulations that restrict expressive activity." Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 794, 109 S.Ct. 2746, 105 L.Ed.2d 661 (1989).
Here, the language about which the plaintiffs complain is not unconstitutionally vague when considered in the context of the regulation's entire provision. It may be that the precise meanings of the phrases "physically distinguishable," "along the street frontage," and "adjacent to such sidewalks," in isolation, are not apparent. However, these provisions are part of an actual sentence, and each of these three phrases serves to inform and provide context for the others: § 232.1(h)(1) does not apply to "sidewalks along the street frontage of postal property falling within the property lines of the Postal Service that are not physically distinguishable from adjacent municipal or other public sidewalks, and any paved areas adjacent to such sidewalks that are not physically distinguishable from such sidewalks." 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(a)(ii) (2010). The plaintiffs argue that a crack, seam, or change in color in a Grace sidewalk could provide a basis for an enforcing official to not apply the exclusion to that sidewalk. But such minor physical anomalies are
The plaintiffs have not shown a need to enjoin USPS from re-amending the regulation to apply to Grace sidewalks. Nor have the plaintiffs carried their burden to show that the amended regulation is overbroad, as they have not demonstrated that a substantial number of Kokinda sidewalks are public forums. Because no material facts are in dispute and the regulation is reasonable and not void for vagueness, the defendant's motion [142] for summary judgment will be granted, and the plaintiff's motion [143] for summary judgment will be denied. An appropriate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
Sidewalk C (Interior sidewalksSidewalk B runningSidewalk A (Interior alongsideObserved (Grace "feeder" the postalFrequency sidewalks) sidewalks) building[)] Several times a month 1.4% 1.1% 1.3% About monthly 4.7% 5.9% 2.6% Three to six times a year 8.9% 5.9% 9.5%
(Pls.' Mem. at 12.)