5-13-2015
A small business owner who had his political signs confiscated by the government won a First Amendment lawsuit last month in federal court. John Russell owns an auto body shop in Cold Spring, Ky., not far from Cincinnati. He allowed the candidates he supported—both Democrats and Republicans—to put up political signs on his property. But come Election Day, sheriff’s deputies entered Russell’s private property and confiscated the signs.
Then it happened again. And again.
Russell’s business was caught in an Election Day “no-speech zone.” Kentucky banned “electioneering” within 300 feet of polling places on Election Day. That broad term included displaying signs, distributing campaign handbills and soliciting for both petition signatures and votes. Russell’s body shop lies 150 feet away (and across a four-lane highway) from the First Baptist Church, which doubles as a polling place on Election Day.
But Kentucky did not exempt private property from its 300-foot no-speech zone. In fact, the only exemptions were for exit polling and “bumper stickers on cars that are parked at a polling location.” According to a 2012 survey by the National Association of Secretaries of States, Kentucky had one of the largest polling-place buffer zones in the nation.
Empowered by the law, deputies seized the signs on Russell’s property on both the primary and general election days in 2012 and on the primary election day in 2014. To vindicate his right to free speech, Russell sued multiple county and state officials. On April 28, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the buffer zone “violates the First Amendment,” for it “substantially burden[s] protected speech,” creating a “chilling effect” on free speech. The ruling affirms a district court decision from last year.
Read Full Article at Forbes.com
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