Source: ACSOL
Attorneys General in 16 states have filed an amicus brief in support of the petition filed by the Attorney General of Missouri asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that found a Missouri state law that required registrants to post a sign on their home to be unconstitutional. The basis of that decision is that the state law is compelled speech and therefore in violation off the First Amendment.
The lead Attorney General in the amicus brief is the Attorney General from Iowa. The remaining 15 Attorneys General represent that states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.
In their amicus brief, the Attorneys General argue that the Halloween sign law is a constitutional regulation of conduct that imposes only an incidental burden on speech. The state officials also argue that the 8th Circuit erred by divorcing the sign from its functional purpose.
According to the amicus brief, the 16 states “have a profound interest in ensuring that the First Amendment remains a shield for individual liberty without becoming a sword that dismantles the States’ traditional police power to provide for the safety of their neighborhoods.” The brief also states that the “extra safety precautions of mandating a sign to ensure the public has fair warning of that prohibition is much more aligned with standard sex offender related regulations than protected speech.”
“The 16 states that have filed an amicus brief are repeating unsuccessful arguments made by the State of Missouri in both the trial and appellate courts,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “However, the amicus brief adds significance to Missouri’s request for review and could lead to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of granting the original petition.”
In order to perform the legal work required to oppose the petition as well as the amicus brief, ACSOL needs additional resources. Donations to ACSOL can be made online using the “Donate” button or send to ACSOL at 2110 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95816.
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Be assured, should the Supreme Court approve this and Colorado attempt to implement these signs, I will not be putting one in my yard, the Supreme Court be damned! My wife, an attorney, also lives at my residence and is not going to allow such a sign in our yard.
Iowa’s AG has the perfect last name of Bird because she and the other 15 states are birdbrains who should be sued in the future. Birds of a feather flock together right into a telephone wire where their lies and myths go to die.