LEDGEVIEW, WI (WTAQ) – A junked vehicle is not a lawn decoration.
That according to a state appeals court, which has ruled against a Ledgeview man who wanted to keep a van in his yard.
John Knaus argued that the red, white, and blue paint job shows his First Amendment right of ‘patriotic expression.’
Knaus had been cited by the town for violating an ordinance that prohibits keeping abandoned, junked, or hazardous vehicles on one’s property.
The court 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.’
