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Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent

Supreme Court of the United States · 1984 · Constitutional Law

Constitutional LawFirst AmendmentFreedom of SpeechContent-Neutral RegulationPublic ForumOverbreadthFirst Amendmentoverbreadth

Facts

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 28.04 prohibited posting signs on public property. During a city council campaign, supporters of Roland Vincent hired COGS to place cardboard campaign signs on utility-pole crosswires throughout Los Angeles, and city employees routinely removed them under the ordinance. The District Court found the ordinance was enforced without regard to content, that illegally posted signs created clutter and visual blight, that signs on utility poles added to that blight and encouraged more posting, and that speakers remained free to communicate through other methods such as picketing, parading, handbilling, signs on automobiles, and signs on private property with permission.

Issue

Whether Los Angeles' content-neutral prohibition on posting signs on public property violates the First Amendment, either facially under the overbreadth doctrine or as applied to appellees' political campaign signs posted on utility-pole crosswires.

Rule

A facial overbreadth challenge is inappropriate unless there is a realistic danger that the law itself will significantly compromise recognized First Amendment protections of persons not before the court; mere conceivable impermissible applications are insufficient, and any overbreadth must be real and substantial in relation to the law's plainly legitimate sweep. A viewpoint-neutral regulation of expression on public property is valid if it furthers an important or substantial governmental interest unrelated to the suppression of expression, is narrowly tailored so the incidental restriction is no greater than essential to further that interest, and leaves adequate alternative channels of communication; nonpublic government property may be reserved for its intended purposes so long as speech restrictions are reasonable and viewpoint neutral.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

Phoenix adopts an ordinance forbidding anyone from attaching signs, posters, or placards to any city-owned pole, hydrant, retaining wall, or traffic box. During a school-board race, Maya Ortiz's supporters attach campaign placards to city light poles, and the city removes them under a policy applied without regard to message.

The supporters bring a facial overbreadth challenge, arguing the ordinance might someday burden protected speech by other speakers. They identify no category of third-party speech more protected than their own postings. What is the strongest argument for upholding the ordinance against the facial challenge?

Explanation. A facial overbreadth challenge is improper absent a realistic danger that the law itself will significantly compromise recognized First Amendment protections of third parties. Mere conceivable invalid applications are not enough, and overbreadth must be real and substantial relative to the law's legitimate sweep. Where challengers identify no third-party speech more likely to be protected than their own postings, the court should refuse facial overbreadth review and proceed, if at all, on an as-applied basis.