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Oshkosh Man Faces Fine for Political Sign
August 25, 2004
Oshkosh resident Jacob Burns appeared in Winnebago County Circuit Court
this morning to contest a ticket issued because he held a political sign
on a bridge over highway 41. The sign said: “No Bush; No Kerry;
Vote Badnarik.” George Curtis, of the Curtis Law Office of Oshkosh,
is representing Mr. Burns as a volunteer cooperating counsel on behalf
of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation.
Mr. Burns walked onto County Road GG’s bridge over Highway 41 in
the middle of the day on Saturday, July 31, 2004, hoping to let people
know about a third-party alternative to the Democratic and Republican
presidential candidates. “I don’t have money to buy a TV or
radio ad to support my candidate,” he said. “There’s
a fair amount of traffic on Highway 41. I thought a sign would reach some
other people who aren’t satisfied with the major parties and maybe
they would look Badnarik up on the web.”
ACLU Executive Director Christopher Ahmuty described the citation as
“an affront to basic free speech principles. The side of the road
is a public forum from which people have a right to express their views,
when, as in this case, they don't impede traffic.”
In public statements, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department
has tried to justify the charges by citing safety concerns. ACLU state
legal director Larry Dupuis said, “I’m always amazed when
local officials try to stifle free speech in the name of aesthetics or
safety. It’s really hard to see how Jacob’s handmade sign
is more of a threat to highway safety than the provocative billboards,
neon signs for businesses or painted advertisements on barns that line
the freeways.”
ACLU Volunteer Attorney Curtis said the charges against his client should
be dismissed: “Jacob’s sign didn’t block any official
highway signs. He was on a bridge that bicyclists and pedestrians cross
all the time. I doubt Jacob would have had any trouble if he had been
up there waving an American flag. I think the Sheriff got a little carried
away with this one.”
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