The judge, Steven Servaas, seemed sympathetic at the first hearing, expressing serious concerns over the township’s expansive definition of what speech it can regulate.
“My own feeling,” he said, “is that you have to be pretty careful about what you let the government stop you from saying.”
He got the township’s attorney to admit that a similarly sized sign with as anodyne a message as “I Love America” would be an unacceptable political display on private land, even if it weren’t visible from a road.
The government attorney further explained that “there is really no provision under the zoning ordinance that would allow a 300-square-foot sign that says the message that it says, or a commercial one, other than a billboard.”
Van Den Heuvel, however, believes there’s one clearly more important statute that gives Verduin the right to speak on his own property:
“The Constitution is clear.
What do we value highest?
We want a vigorous political dialogue, no matter what side you’re on.”
If found “not responsible” — like getting off of a traffic ticket — Verduin won’t have to pay the small fine and can keep his sign, but more important, the township will probably give up trying to enforce the rule anywhere.
If found “not responsible” — like getting off of a traffic ticket — Verduin won’t have to pay the small fine and can keep his sign, but more important, the township will probably give up trying to enforce the rule anywhere.
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