U.S. District Court Case Summaries: August 11, 2008.(Brief article)

Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff

Constitutional State law - Political signs Where a plaintiff, whose political signs have purportedly been removed from their roadside locations by the defendant Richmond police chief, is challenging the state law (R.I.G.L. s.11-22-2, subsection 3) under which the police chief is alleged to have acted, I conclude that the law in question is unconstitutional in vesting unbridled discretion in local authorities over whether to permit or deny expressive activity. Judge's comments The [U.S.] Supreme Court made clear many years ago that 'an ordinance which ... makes the peaceful enjoyment of freedoms which the Constitution …