American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California v. Board of Education of the City of San Diego

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (a Corporation) et al., Petitioners, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, Respondent.

COUNSEL

A. L. Wirin, Abraham Gorenfeld, Irwin Gostin and Fred Okrand for Petitioners.

Robert L. Bostick, Fred F. Cooper, Albert M. Bendich, Marshall W. Krause and Rudolph Pacht as Amici Curiae on behalf of Petitioners.

Henry A. Dietz, County Counsel, Donald L. Clark and Joseph Kase, Jr., Deputy County Counsel, for Respondent.

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum

DOOLING, J.

Petitioners seek a writ of mandate to compel the Board of Education of the City of San Diego to grant their application for the use of certain school buildings in San Diego in which to hold a series of monthly public meetings on the general theme of "Civil Liberties and the Constitution." As in the companion Los Angeles School Board case (L. A. 25788, ante, p. 167 [10 Cal. Rptr. 647, 359 P.2d 45]), petitioners refused to furnish the required "Statement of Information" (Ed. Code, § 16565) and the board denied petitioners' use of the requested school premises.

The questions presented are identical with those presented in the Los Angeles case, and the disposition should be the same.

Let a peremptory writ of mandate issue directing respondent to act upon any pending or future application by petitioners to be allowed to hold a public meeting or meetings in any of the school buildings described in the petition without [55 Cal. 2d 907] requiring from petitioners a "Statement of Information" in the form prescribed by section 16565 of the Education Code.

Gibson, C. J., Traynor, J., and Peters, J., concurred.

WHITE, J.

I dissent.

Upon the grounds and for the reasons stated in my dissenting opinion in American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, a California Corporation; Eason Monroe, Director and Willard Carpenter, Associate Director, Petitioners v. Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles, Respondent, L. A. 25788, this day filed, ante, p. 182 [10 Cal. Rptr. 647, 359 P.2d 45], I would discharge the alternative writ and deny the petition for a peremptory writ of mandate.

SCHAUER, J.

Dissenting.

For the reasons stated in the dissenting opinion of Justice White in American Civil Liberties Union v. Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles, ante, p. 182 [10 Cal. Rptr. 647, 359 P.2d 45], and for the reasons stated in the opinion of Presiding Justice Fox, concurred in by Justice Ashburn and Justice pro tempore Kincaid, fn. * when that case was before the District Court of Appeal (reported in (Cal.App.) 5 Cal.Rptr. 215), I would discharge the alternative writ and deny the petition for a peremptory writ of mandate.

McComb, J., concurred.

FN *. Assigned by Chairman of Judicial Council.