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Expert: - 6/9/2008


Question
As a condition of purchasing a specific home, I was required to sign a "covenant" with the local homeowner's association.  One of the items is a time-limit restriction on the ability to place campaign signs on my front lawn.  Given the recent Bell v. Baltimore County rulings, these are a violation of "free speech."  If I understand correctly, I cannot give up a right granted to me - even if it's a provision to buying a house.  If the covenant stipulated that to buy a house, I wasn't allowed to vote, that wouldn't be legal (I wouldn't think) - why is a limit on my ability to express my opinion via campaign signs allowable?

Thank you in advance for your comments!

Answer
Hello,

Generally speaking, Homeowners Associations are not considered government entities and therefore are not normally bound by the First Amendment.  For more, you may find this article helpful:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/speech/personal/topic.aspx?topic=yard_signs

I hope this helps!
- Mike  

1st Amendment and Free Speech

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Michael Troy

Expertise

I will answer general questions regarding freedom of speech, petition, or religion. I specialize in cases involving public employment or education, as well as issues related to campaign finance. But I can`t give specific legal advice involving specific cases you might have.

Experience

As an attorney for the Center for Individual Rights, I worked on a number of free speech cases, including Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia, in which the Supreme Court upheld my clients' right to run a student newspaper without discrimination because of its religious conent. I also worked on White v. Julian, which protected the right of people to protest against a homeless shelter in their neighborhood.

I also worked for the Federal Election Commission on several cases regarding the right to participate in the election process.

Organizations
Former Attorney for Center for Individual Rights.

Publications
Washington Post
Washington Times

Education/Credentials
J.D. from Univ. of Michigan Law School

Awards and Honors
Truman Scholar

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