ABSTRACT
Signs posted on residential property are a form of expression protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. The Lindmark and Margaret Gilleo decisions, along with Supreme Court decisions discussing other types of sign regulations, reveal four general principles. First, lawn signs may be subject to "time, place, and manner" regulations. Second, ordinances that restrict or ban signs based on subject matter or the particular viewpoint taken in a sign are more constitutionnally suspect. Third, signs that convey a "commercial" message are, all other things being equal, given less constitutional protection than "non-commercial" signs. Fourth, the Supreme Court in Gilleo implied that the right to post a sign on one's own property is stronger than the right to post signs, especially if the sign's message is political in nature. The Court in Gilleo described the unique value of lawn signs as a form of expression.
