International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Lee

Background

A religious group (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON) sued the Port Authority after its members were stopped from performing sankirtan—giving out religious literature and asking for donations—inside New York area airport terminals. The Port Authority runs JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark terminals and adopted a rule forbidding continuous or repetitive solicitation and the repetitive sale or distribution of printed material inside terminals, while allowing such activity on sidewalks outside the terminals.

Reasoning

The Court asked whether airport terminals are public places for free speech or controlled spaces where the government can set reasonable rules. The majority concluded these terminals are nonpublic forums because they are designed and run primarily to facilitate travel and commerce, lack a long tradition as speech forums, and can be subject to reasonable restrictions. The Court found face-to-face solicitation in crowded terminals can disrupt traffic and create risks of fraud or duress, so a rule banning repetitive in-terminal solicitation and immediate receipt of funds is reasonable. The Court treated distribution of literature as a different issue and did not sustain a blanket internal ban on leafleting.

Real world impact

The ruling allows airport operators to bar repetitive in-person fundraising inside terminals while leaving open other ways to speak and to solicit (for example, on sidewalks or by leaving mailers). It limits one fundraising method for religious and charity groups at busy airports, though rules that narrowly regulate where and how leaflets are handed out may still be required.

Dissents or concurrances

Several justices wrote separate opinions: some would treat many airport public areas as public speech forums and strike broad distribution bans, while one dissent would have struck down the solicitation ban entirely.