NI HORIZONTALES NI VERTICALES. LOS DEBERES MEDIATOS PRIMA FACIE Y SU APLICACIÓN A LOS CASOS DE LA DOCTRINA DEL PUBLIC FORUM EN EL DERECHO NORTEAMERICANO

This article will addresses the conflict between the individual who intends to use a privately owned space as a forum for the expression of ideas, to participate in a debate of public relevance, and the owner of the establishment with free access to the public. We ask whether the right of communication gives the speaker the power to use freely accessible public spaces or whether the property right empowers its owner to prohibit such expressive activities. Having briefly outlined the jurisprudential evolution of the conflict between the speaker and the owner of the physical or virtual space, we will first observe the contradiction between the doctrine of state action and the line drawn by the jurisprudence itself, which shows great coincidences, rather than different powers of the state and the private owner. Therefore, we will propose the distinction based on the model of the spheres of social life and the recognition of prima facie mediate duties of citizens in the public sphere. Finally, we will apply these theories to the relations between private individuals in the public forum.