Arlington County (1993), a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. In Arlington County Republican Committee v. “When political campaign signs are posted on private residences, they merit the same special solicitude and protection established for cause signs in City of Ladue.” “There is no distinction to be made between the political campaign signs in the present case and the ‘cause’ sign in City of Ladue,” the court wrote. Prince George’s County (1999), a federal district court in Maryland invalidated a sign ordinance that limited the posting of political campaign signs in private residences to 45 days before and up to 10 days after an election. Lower courts have cited the Gilleo precedent with great success in challenging city bans on political yard signs. … Even for the affluent, the added costs in money or time of taking out a newspaper advertisement, handing out leaflets on the street, or standing in front of one’s house with a handheld sign may make the difference between participating and not participating in some public debate.” Especially for persons of modest means or limited mobility, a yard or window sign may have no practical substitute. … Residential signs are an unusually cheap and convenient form of communication. “Displaying a sign from one’s own residence often carries a message quite distinct from placing the sign someplace else, or conveying the same text or picture by other means. Gilleo, writing that residential yard signs were “a venerable means of communication that is both unique and important.” The Court explained: Supreme Court rejected the ordinance in City of Ladue v. Margaret Gilleo ran afoul of the law when she placed a 24-by-36-inch sign in her front lawn with the words, “Say No to War in the Persian Gulf, Call Congress Now” and an 8 ½-by-11-inch sign in the second-story window of her home that read, “For Peace in the Gulf.”Ī unanimous U.S.
Supreme Court struck down a Missouri city law prohibiting signs at private residences. They also contend that aesthetic interests pale in comparison to the importance of political speech expressed in campaign signs. However, opponents of such regulations counter that yard signs, unlike perhaps large billboards too close to public streets, do not in any way reduce traffic safety. Some city officials claim that putting limits on yard signs furthers a variety of state interests, including aesthetics and traffic safety. The question becomes whether such city laws infringe upon citizens’ and perhaps the candidates’ First Amendment rights. Sometimes this form of freedom of expression conflicts with a city law banning or limiting the time in which political signs may be displayed. Many people like to express their support for a political candidate with a yard sign.