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Ordinance Interpretation – 1st Amendment Violation

By: Derek Hawkins//October 21, 2019//

Ordinance Interpretation – 1st Amendment Violation

By: Derek Hawkins//October 21, 2019//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Leibundguth Storage & Van Service, Inc., v. Village of Downers Grove, Illinois,

Case No.: 16-3055

Officials: BAUER and EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judges, and DEGUILIO, District Judge.

Focus: Ordinance Interpretation – 1st Amendment Violation

An ordinance in Downers Grove, Illinois, limits the size and location of signs. Leibundguth Storage & Van Service contends that this ordinance violates the First Amendment to the Constitution (applied to the states by the Fourteenth) because it is riddled with exceptions and therefore is a form of content discrimination that the Village has not justified. See Reed v. Gilbert, 135 S. Ct. 2218 (2015). But because the principal topic of the ordinance is commercial speech, the district court concluded that Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission, 447 U.S. 557 (1980), rather than Reed supplies the rule of decision, and it found the ordinance valid. 150 F. Supp. 3d 910 (N.D. Ill. 2015). We conclude that, whether or not Reed applies, this does not do Leibundguth any good because it is not affected by the problematic exceptions.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

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