Vermont highways to remain politically signless
By The Associated Press
10.24.02
BURLINGTON, Vt. — A federal judge says the Vermont law that prohibits the placing of political placards beside state highways is constitutional.
U.S. District Judge William Sessions III denied a request yesterday for an injunction that would have prevented state highway crews from removing political signs from within the state's right of way.
Bernie Lewis of Randolph, a Republican attorney running for probate judge in Orange County, asked Sessions to block the law. He argued that the Vermont law, in effect since 1967, unconstitutionally restricts his and other candidates' right to free speech under the First Amendment.
In a 25-page ruling, Sessions said the law complies with the First Amendment, is enforced fairly, and is clearly written.
"Removal of these signs is unrelated to their message or content," Sessions wrote. "Moreover, the Agency (of Transportation) has exhibited no pattern of discrimination in its practice of removing them."
The sign ban passes First Amendment muster because the state has legitimate rationale for the law, but the measure is narrowly tailored, content-neutral and leaves open "ample alternative channels for communication," the judge wrote.
The state's rationale for the law is that signs clutter pristine views and pose traffic safety hazards, Sessions wrote.
"The Court cannot envision any means of regulation here that would be any less restrictive and still accomplish the government's substantial interests," reads the ruling.
The law also is clear in that it plainly defines the state right of way, and in places where the right of way is wider but the exact width is unknown, crews enforce only the distance outlined in the law.
Separately, the state reinterpreted the law this week to say that signs placed on the rights of way of town highways can remain there. That did not change the rule for state highways.