Institute for Justice sticking up for the forgotten right

Today the lawyers for the Institute for Justice are in federal court defending a St. Louis client’s right to exercise the “forgotten” right of the five contained in the First Amendment: “right of the people … to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

When the city and some private developers decided they could better use Jim Roos’ apartment buildings than he could by taking his property through eminent domain, Roos protested in a manner most convenient to him. He painted a sign on the side of one of his remaining buildings.

But the city used its sign ordinance to deny him the right to petition them for redress of his grievance and ordered the sign removed.

“Giving government bureaucrats the power to decide which speech is acceptable turns the First Amendment on its head,” said Michael Bindas, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice.  “Unfortunately, that is exactly what can happen under local government ‘sign code’ regulations restricting or eliminating outdoor communications.  And it is happening in St. Louis, where the city government is trying to censor a sign protesting the abuse of eminent domain by — who else? — the city of St. Louis.”

Arguments are today before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

IJ attorneys are fighting another sign ordinance in Virginia I told you about earlier.