Farmer Fined for Displaying Political Billboards Critical of Marxism & Obama on Private Property

Attorneys for the Rutherford Institute have come to the
defense of a Michigan cattle farmer who was cited and
fined for displaying political banners critical of the Obama
administration on a farming truck parked on his
private 40-acre lot.

The banners mounted by Vern Verduin on his farm truck
proclaim “Marxism/Socialism = Hunger and Poverty” and
“Obama’s ‘Mission Accomplished,’ 8% Unemployment, 16
Trillion Debt.”

In censuring Verduin, Gaines Township officials insist
that his political banners violate the township’s sign
ordinance, which allows only business-related signs on
vehicles, restricts the size to no more than 20 square feet,
and limits the time period for displaying political signs
from 45 days before an election to ten days past an
election.

Rutherford Institute attorneys will appear in state
district court on Friday, March 22, to challenge the
township’s actions and sign ordinance as an unconstitutional
violation of Verduin’s right to free speech, free expression
and equal treatment under the law.

“Americans have a clear First Amendment right to freedom of
political expression, whether that ‘expression’ takes place
at a podium, on a t-shirt, a billboard, a picket sign, or on
the side of a farm truck parked on private property as in
the case of Vern Verduin,” said John W. Whitehead, president
of The Rutherford Institute. “By denying this farmer the
right to freely express his political views on his own
property, no less, city officials have essentially
done away with one of the key ingredients in a democracy
such as ours, which is the right to freely speak our
minds to and about those who represent us. It is our hope
the courts will recognize and rectify this wrong.”

In September 2012, Gaines Township officials ordered Vern
Verduin, who owns and operates a 40-acre cattle farm, to
take down two political banners displayed on one of his
farming trucks, which was parked on his private property.
City officials justified their demand by pointing to the
city’s sign ordinance, which permits business-related signs
on vehicles, restricts political signs of more than 20
square feet, and limits the time period for displaying
political signs to a time spanning 45 days before an
election until ten days past an election.

Standing firm in his free speech rights and insisting
that politics is a year-round discussion, Verduin continued
to display the political banners and signs on his private
property. At the same time, the cattle farmer called on
city officials to amend the ordinance in order to better
respect the rights of individuals wishing to exercise their
free speech rights on private property by displaying
political signs.

City officials refused to accommodate Verduin’s request,
and in January 2013 cited him for violating the sign
ordinance, which levies a $50 fine. In coming to Verduin’s
defense, Rutherford Institute attorneys are challenging the
city’s actions and its ordinance as a clear violation of
Verduin’s rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments
to the United States Constitution. Institute attorneys will
appear in the 63rd District Court in Kent County, Michigan
at 9:45 am on Friday, March 22, to request that the charges
against Verduin be dismissed.

This Press Release is also available at www.rutherford.org

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