Supreme Court to Hear Sign Code Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will tackle a hotly debated sign ordinance out of Arizona next week. Reed v. Town of Gilbert challenges a sign code that limits the size and number of signs on a church’s property. It also questions how long those signs can stay up. Is this ordinance a freedom of speech violation as it pertains to the church? That’s the question before our nation’s highest court.
The lawsuit was filed by Pastor Clyde Reed in 2007. He claims the ordinance targeted his Good News Community Church and violates the church’s First Amendment rights. Reed states that Gilbert, which is a suburb of Phoenix, makes “content-based” distinctions in its sign code. He uses political signs as an example, as those signs can be larger and stay in place for a longer period of time.
The church was first cited for violations in 2005 and after years of legal battles, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case on January 12. For more information about this case, please contact ISA’s David Hickey.
