Bridgeport's Time Limits on Political Yard Signs Struck Down in ACLU Case
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 2006
Contact: Terri Baur,
(304) 345-9246
CHARLESTON, WV - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a decision striking down a City of Bridgeport ordinance barring individuals from posting signs expressing political messages in their yards except for 30 days before and 48 hours after an election.
"I'm very pleased that the court ruled in our favor," said Daniel McFadden, the plaintiff in the case. "It didn't seem right to me that a person could be fined for putting a sign about an important public issue on his own property. I hope now other residents of Bridgeport will take advantage of this opportunity and express their opinions in the upcoming elections."
The ACLU of West Virginia Foundation filed the lawsuit on behalf of McFadden, a Bridgeport resident who posted two hand-painted signs in his yard expressing his views on candidates for the presidency in September 2004, several months before the general election. That was before he heard about the sign ordinance.
After an acquaintance told him the city regulated political signs, McFadden went to the Bridgeport Zoning Department where he was handed a notice that spelled out the restrictions and warned that signs posted outside the time limits would be confiscated and the owner of the sign could be subject to prosecution. Believing that the ordinance infringed his First Amendment rights, McFadden contacted the ACLU. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia after efforts to negotiate with the city to remove the time limits were unsuccessful.
"Vigorous debate over issues of public concern is essential to our democracy, and yard signs offer an affordable way for the average citizen to participate in that debate," said Terri Baur, Legal Director for the ACLU of West Virginia Foundation. "We appreciate Mr. McFadden's efforts to assert his First Amendment rights and to help secure them for his fellow citizens."
Daniel McFadden was represented in the lawsuit by ACLU cooperating attorney Robert M. Bastress.
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