Sign Crimes
Violating recent Supreme Court precedent, cities are punishing advertisers based on the content of their speech
Violating recent Supreme Court precedent, cities are punishing advertisers based on the content of their speech
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Entrepreneurs wishing to advertise new products or services are often thwarted by local ordinances that censor their efforts to communicate certain messages to the public. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Reed v. Town of Gilbert that such restrictions are unconstitutional, and struck down an unfair and confusing set of restrictions imposed on signs by the Town of Gilbert, Arizona. But many cities across the country continue to threaten small business owners with fines and even jail time for putting up a “For Lease” sign or a banner offering free meals to veterans.
The City of Chandler, Arizona, didn’t learn from the experience of neighboring Gilbert. In violation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Reed, Chandler imposes different rules for signs based on their content and the speaker. Chandler’s sign code bans some signs altogether, requires permits for other signs, and allows other signs without any prior permission—all depending on what the signs say.
Under Chandler’s perplexing rules, it would be illegal for a day care business to place a sign advertising a discount to single parents right beside a sidewalk. But if the sign also contained the words “grand opening,” the sign would be legal. Different size, dimension and location requirements apply to “open house signs” than to “real estate signs” even when both signs advertise that a property is available for sale or lease.
Whether an advertiser will be left alone – or charged with a crime punishable by thousands of dollars in fines or jail time – depends on how a city official chooses to categorize the sign in question. And that decision is based on what the sign says – a content-based regulation, which the Supreme Court has deemed unconstitutional.
The Goldwater Institute has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Chandler Sign Code to vindicate the rights to free speech and to equal protection under the law.
Officials looking for guidance in revising their sign codes to respect constitutional rights and avoid costly litigation can read the Goldwater Institute’s report Heed Reed.
United States Representative, United States House of Representatives
Congressman Jamie Raskin proudly represents Maryland’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes Montgomery, Carroll, and Frederick Counties. Congressman Raskin was sworn into his second Term at the start of the 116th Congress on January 3, 2019.
Congressman Raskin is a returning Member of the House Judiciary Committee, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the Committee on House Administration. This Congress, he joined the House Committee on Rules and now Chairs the Rules Subcommittee on Expedited Procedures. Raskin is Vice Chair of the House Administration Committee, Chair of the Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Vice Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. Raskin is the Caucus Leadership Representative for the 116th Congress, a role in which he represents Junior Members of the Caucus (those who have served five or less Terms) at the leadership table. He was also appointed to serve as a Senior Whip for the 116th Congress.
Prior to his time in Congress, Raskin was a three-term State Senator in Maryland, where he also served as the Senate Majority Whip. He earned a reputation for building coalitions in Annapolis to deliver a series of landmark legislative accomplishments. He was also a professor of constitutional law at American University’s Washington College of Law for more than 25 years. He authored several books, including the Washington Post best-seller Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court versus the American People and the highly-acclaimed We the Students: Supreme Court Cases For and About America’s Students, which has sold more than 50,000 copies.
Congressman Raskin is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He and his wife, Sarah Bloom Raskin, live in Takoma Park with their dogs, Potter and Toby. They have three grown children: Tabitha, Tommy, and Hannah.
Executive Vice President, Goldwater Institute
Christina Sandefur is the Executive Vice President at the Goldwater Institute. She develops policies and litigates cases advancing healthcare freedom, free enterprise, private property rights, free speech, and taxpayer rights.
Christina is a co-drafter of the Right to Try initiative, now federal law, which protects terminally ill patients' right to try safe investigational treatments that have been prescribed by their physician but are not yet FDA-approved. She has won important victories for property rights in Arizona and works nationally to promote the Institute's Private Property Rights Protection Act, a state-level reform that requires government to pay owners when regulations destroy property rights and reduce property values.
Christina is the co-author of the book Cornerstone of Liberty: Private Property Rights in 21st Century America (2016). She is a frequent guest on national television and radio programs, has provided expert legal testimony to various legislative committees, and is a frequent speaker at conferences. She is the recipient of the 2018 Buckley Award in recognition of her leadership in the freedom movement, and she is an Advisory Board Member of the Network of enlightened Women. Christina serves on the board of the Phoenix Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society and is a member of the executive committee for the Federalist Society's Regulatory Transparency Project: FDA & Health.
Christina is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law and Hillsdale College.