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St. Louis Hates Free Speech, Loves Big Developers

Posted by Allen Unzelman

When St. Louis declared the Bohemian Hill neighborhood blighted in order to make way for private development efforts, Jim Roos hired an artist to paint a two-story high mural protesting the city’s abuse of eminent domain. Hiding behind a local code that requires murals to be no larger than 30 square feet, the city is now asking a federal judge to order Roos to take the sign down. Last November, The Institute for Justice filed papers in federal court defending Roos’s First Amendment free speech rights.

Roos is the latest victim in a recent trend of free speech violations orchestrated by local officials who enjoy using sign codes to override First Amendment rights. Just last year, the 6th Circuit overturned Glendale, Ohio’s ban on “for sale” signs in car windows. In 2006, the 9th Circuit also overturned an ordinance in Redmond, Washington banning a bagel store from displaying a “fresh bagels” sign.

We can only hope that Roos’s speech rights will also be upheld so that his fight to restore property rights in St. Louis can continue.

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07/16/2008 @ 6:01 pm | Constitutional & Legal, Personal Liberty | 1 Comment

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