Marsh v. Alabama

326 U.S. 501 (1946)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Chickasaw was a company-owned town in Alabama. There is nothing to stop highway traffic from coming onto the business block, and, upon arrival, a traveler may make free use of the facilities available there. There is nothing to distinguish this town from any other town and shopping center except the fact that the title to the property belongs to a private corporation. The company prohibited all peddlers lacking a permit. Marsh (D) a Jehovah's Witness, came onto the sidewalk stood near the post office, and undertook to distribute religious literature. D was arrested and convicted of a misdemeanor for remaining on private property after being asked to leave. D claimed a first and fourteenth amendment right violation because the sidewalks in the business block were quasi-public. The Alabama Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, holding that the statute, as applied, was constitutional because the title to the sidewalk was in the corporation and because the public use of the sidewalk had not been such as to give rise to a presumption under Alabama law of its irrevocable dedication to the public. The State Supreme Court denied certiorari, and the case is here on appeal under § 237(a) of the Judicial Code, 28 U.S.C. § 344(a).