Federal Judge Declares Pewaukee Ordinances Violate Free Speech

April 12, 2004

A federal court has ruled that the City of Pewaukee unconstitutionally violated the First Amendment rights of its residents. Late last week, U.S. District Judge Charles N. Clevert struck down ordinances that prohibited City of Pewaukee residents from placing political lawn signs – even in their own yards – for the vast majority of the year.

City of Pewaukee resident Walter Fiedorowicz wanted to place signs saying “Let Us Vote” in his front yard and on the private property of other willing residents, to help persuade the Common Council to hold a referendum on whether the City and Village of Pewaukee should merge. One City ordinance prohibited placing any campaign signs except for limited periods before and after elections – but the City had not scheduled an election. Another ordinance required residents to pay fees and get official permission to erect temporary signs and restricted use of those signs to 30 days in a six-month period, even though the City permitted the use of church bulletin boards and real estate signs for longer periods of time.

In holding the ordinances unconstitutional, Judge Clevert held that “communication by signs and posters is virtually pure speech” and that for the “vast majority of the year, the City of Pewaukee has completely foreclosed a venerable means of communication that is both unique and important.” The city had argued that its ban was necessary for traffic safety and aesthetic reasons, but Judge Clevert found that it had not justified its differential treatment of political speech, and that requiring city approval of signs was an unconstitutional prior restraint. Judge Clevert’s decision “made clear that such concerns cannot justify heavy-handed regulation of the exercise of one of our most essential liberties,” noted ACLU executive director Chris Ahmuty.

American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation volunteer counsel James Friedman, Brady Williamson, and Jennifer Peterson, of LaFollette, Godfrey & Kahn, represented Mr. Fiedorowicz. Judge Clevert also ordered the City to pay Mr. Fiedorowicz’s attorney’s fees.

Attorney Friedman hailed the decision as a victory for free speech. He described Mr. Fiedorowicz’s yard sign as a classic example of “core political speech that is at the heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right to free expression.” He said Judge Clevert’s opinion “reaffirms the importance of ensuring that individual citizens can use their own property to express their political views without undue government interference.”

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