City of Ladue v. Gilleo
Encyclopedia
City of Ladue v. Gilleo, 114 S. Ct. 2038
(1994), was a free speech decision of the Supreme Court of the United States
. It was a case
challenging the legality of a city ordinance restricting the placement of signs in the yards of residents of Ladue, MO. The case was argued on February 23, 1994, and decided on June 13 of the same year.
unanimously affirmed the ruling of the Appeals Court. Justice Stevens, writing for the majority, expressed the Court's suspicion of regulations eliminating an entire form of communication, in this case signs. While Ladue alleged that this regulation was permissible as a restriction on "time, place, and manner" since residents could express themselves via other means, the Court found that there were no means that would be adequate substitutes. Ladue had also argued that its regulation was content neutral, but this did not satisfy the Court, which still found that the regulation prevented too much speech that is protected.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1994), was a free speech decision of the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. It was a case
Legal case
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal...
challenging the legality of a city ordinance restricting the placement of signs in the yards of residents of Ladue, MO. The case was argued on February 23, 1994, and decided on June 13 of the same year.
Background
Margaret P. Gilleo was a resident of Ladue, MO. On December 8, 1990, she placed a sign in her front yard expressing her opposition to a war in the Persian Gulf and encouraging viewers to contact Congress regarding this matter. He sign disappeared, so she erect yet another. After this sign, too, disappeared, Gilleo filed a complaint with the police, who informed her that such signs were prohibited by city ordiance. Ladue had a broad ban on signs, making exceptions for only ten instances, inluding residential markers, home sale signs, commercial signs in properly-zoned areas, etc. After being refused a variance, Gilleo filed suit in federal court against the city, Mayor Edith Spinks, and the members of the city council. The district court struck down the ordinance as unconstitutional, and this decision was affirmed by the appeals court.The Decision
The Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
unanimously affirmed the ruling of the Appeals Court. Justice Stevens, writing for the majority, expressed the Court's suspicion of regulations eliminating an entire form of communication, in this case signs. While Ladue alleged that this regulation was permissible as a restriction on "time, place, and manner" since residents could express themselves via other means, the Court found that there were no means that would be adequate substitutes. Ladue had also argued that its regulation was content neutral, but this did not satisfy the Court, which still found that the regulation prevented too much speech that is protected.