Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-union’s section 1983 action alleging that defendant’s ordinance, which banned all signs on public right-of-way, violated plaintiff’s First Amendment rights, where plaintiff attempted to place six-foot, “Scabby the Rat” inflatable balloon in public right-of-way at construction site to protest fact that masonry company in defendant’s town was not paying area standard wages and benefits. While plaintiff argued that said ordinance allowed inspector to selectively enforce instant ban so as to render any enforcement as discrimination based on content of speech, Dist. Ct. could properly reject said argument, where inspector testified that he reviewed for compliance all signs that were brought to his attention and enforced ban whenever he saw violation. However, Dist. Ct. improperly acted on plaintiff’s claim that 2015 ordinance, which replaced 2014 ordinance, also violated First Amendment, since plaintiff’s contention regarding protests it might have conducted under 2015 ordinance was too speculative to create concrete dispute.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
First Amendment