Rhode Island state law bans highway billboards that advertise for a business or activity that is not located on the same property as the billboard.
In an article from the firstamendmentcenter.org, the state of Rhode Island's recent attempt to restrict the content of a highway billboard was ruled unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
Anthony Vono, a designer of promotional materials, was brought to court for advertising for his commercial and noncommercial clients from a billboard located on his business' property off of Northbound Route 95.
The Providence Journal online reports, at the time, in 2005, Vono's billboard was promoting a nonprofit welfare agency from the rooftop space he leases.
Vono's defense wass"that it is unconstitutional to base restrictions on whether the billboard is promoting on-premises or off-premises activities," according to the Providence Journal Online.
The case recently went to the U.S. District court, where Judge William Smith ruled the restriction of the billboard was unconstitutional. It violates Vono's free-speech rights because the sign was regulated based on the message and content.
- What legal argument would one give for declaring this law unconstitutional?
- Is this a restriction based on the content of the speech or is it a legal time/place or manner restriction?
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