Sometimes an old van is just an old van, not a lawn decoration. That’s the ruling from a state appeals court, against a Brown County man who wanted to keep a van in his yard.
John Knaus argued that the van’s red, white, and blue paint job shows his First Amendment right of ‘patriotic expression.’
Knaus had been cited by the Town of Ledgeview for violating an ordinance that prohibits keeping abandoned, junked, or hazardous vehicles on one’s property.
An 8 page ruling by the state Court of Appeals says there is no reason to believe Knaus was singled out by the municipality, noting ‘government may impose regulations on time, place, and manner of free speech if they are content neutral, narrowly-tailored in service of a legitimate governmental interest, and do not foreclose all avenues of speech.’
WTAQ