Town officials declared the students’ art an illegal sign because it depicted something the bakery sold. So, real mountains would be ok, but donut mountains were illegal—unless those exact same donut mountains were painted on the river rafting business next door, or any other place that didn’t sell donuts.

Towns can regulate the size and placement of signs for reasons like safety, but restricting art based on its content violates the First Amendment.

Sean and IJ tried to work with the town to reform its unconstitutional sign code, but the town wouldn’t budge. So, in early 2023, we filed a federal lawsuit to protect Sean’s First Amendment rights. 

Even after being sued, the town wouldn’t relent, and we actually had a trial in the case earlier this year. In his ruling, the judge relied heavily on the record we developed at trial and concluded that enforcement of the sign code against Sean “does not withstand any level of constitutional scrutiny.”  
 
This win is part of IJ’s long-standing efforts to protect commercial speech—information related to people’s jobs and small businesses. Yes, speech about political and international matters is important, but the ability of small businesses to let people know where they are and what they sell is often essential to their survival. Likewise, it’s important for consumers to hear and see information about businesses and services to make informed decisions. Indeed, commercial speech impacts people in their everyday lives often more than lofty discussions of faraway events and issues.

Please consider adding your support to make victories like this possible for Sean, the high school art students, and their formerly law-breaking mural!

Scott

Scott G. Bullock 

President and Chief Counsel 

Institute for Justice 

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