Federal judges rules “no trick or treat” sign outside sex offenders’ homes unconstitutional News
Federal judges rules “no trick or treat” sign outside sex offenders’ homes unconstitutional

The US District Court for the Middle District of Georgia ruled Tuesday that a county sheriff cannot post a “no trick or treat” sign outside of sex offenders’ homes during the Halloween season, a practice that the court held to be in violation of the First Amendment.

Plaintiffs are sex offenders who are subject to Georgia’s lifelong requirement to register with their local sheriff. Butts County Sheriff Gary Long, the defendant in the present case, posted signs in front of their homes “announcing to the public that their homes are dangerous for children”, although such practice is not a part of Georgia law.

Shortly before Halloween 2018, when plaintiff Holden found the no-trick-or-treat sign, he telephoned Deputy Riley, another defendant in the case, to ask why the sign was posted without his knowledge or permission. Deputy Riley informed him that if he removed the sign, he would be arrested. Holden also said that before Halloween 2017, “a deputy came to his house and advised him to turn his lights off the night of Halloween and to not answer his door to anyone but law enforcement.”

The court first decided that Georgia’s Sex Offender Registry, O.C.G.A. § 42-1-12(i)(5), does not require or authorize sheriffs to post signs in front of sex offenders’ homes (or informing public that the house is unsafe), nor does it require sex offenders themselves to allow such signs. Next, the court rejected defendants’ right-of-way argument, holding that the sheriffs had no right to post a sign in front of plaintiffs’ homes as a form of speech. The court also disagreed that the no-trick-or-treat sign is a form of government speech because plaintiffs are “compelled to adopt that message and are compelled to allow it to be displayed in their front yards.”