California: Federal Judge Temporarily Enjoins One Provision of Simi Valley's Halloween Ordinance
California: Federal Judge Temporarily Enjoins One Provision of Simi Valley's Halloween Ordinance
In October 2012, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order enjoining City of Simi Valley officials from enforcing a provision of the City's Halloween Ordinance, enacted seven weeks earlier, requiring every registered sex offender (RSO) convicted of an offense(s) against a minor(s) to post a sign, every Halloween (October 31), on the front door of his or her residence, stating, "No candy or treats at this residence." The Court found that this sign requirement was presumptively invalid and likely unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
Spurred to act by concerns that trick-or-treating on Halloween offers unique opportunities for sex offenders to victimize children, on September 10, 2012, the Simi Valley City Council enacted an ordinance imposing four restrictions on the conduct of Simi Valley RSOs on Halloween: (1) the sign-posting requirement; (2) a requirement to leave all exterior lighting off during specified evening hours; (3) a requirement to refrain from decorating his or her front yard and residence exterior with Halloween decorations; and (4) a requirement to refrain from answering the door to children who are trick-or-treating.
Eighteen days after the ordinance was enacted, ten RSOs filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that the Halloween restrictions imposed upon them violated their First Amendment rights.
The Court found that the ban on receiving trick-or-treaters did not infringe upon an associational activity protected by the First Amendment; and that, assuming that the ordinance's prohibitions on exterior lighting and Halloween decorations imposed restrictions on expressive conduct, those restrictions were nonetheless constitutionally permissible because there remained "ample alternative channels" for communication of the message that RSOs "wish to participate in Halloween." (For example, under the ordinance, RSOs remain free to go trick-or-treating themselves or to hand out candy in public.)
As to the sign-posting requirement, the Court, noting that a regulation which compels non-commercial speech is subject to strict scrutiny, found that "a number of less speech-restrictive alternatives" exist (including, for instance, the other provisions of the Halloween Ordinance) which would effectively serve the City's interest in substantially abating the dangers posed by RSOs to children who are trick-or-treating. Accordingly, it restrained the City from enforcing the ordinance's sign-posting provision. See: Doe v. City of Simi Valley, U.S.D.C. (C.D. Cal.) Case No. 2:2012-cv-08377-VBK.
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Related legal case
Doe v. City of Simi Valley
| Year | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Cite | U.S.D.C. (C.D. Cal.) Case No. 2:2012-cv-08377-VBK |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |