City of Milwaukee v. Blondis
City of Milwaukee v. Blondis
Opinion of the Court
The City of Milwaukee (City) appeals from a summary judgment in favor of Robert H. Blondis (Blondis) declaring the statute, sec. 346.55(2), and the City's ordinance adopting that statute, No. 101-3, unconstitutional. Because the City has failed to meet its burden of showing that the ordinance/statute directly advances its substantial interest in traffic safety, and by further failing to show that the ordinance/statute is not more extensive than necessary, we affirm.
On April 8, 1988, in the City of Milwaukee Municipal Court, after the trial court rejected Blondis' argument that the ordinance violated his right to economic free speech, he was found guilty of the above offense and was fined $20 plus costs. The fine and costs were stayed pending appeal.
On appeal to the circuit court, Blondis formally answered the City's complaint and petitioned for declaratory relief pursuant to sec. 806.04, Stats., challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance and statute. He claimed that his rights were violated under 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983 on economic free speech grounds under the first and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution. Blondis then moved for summary judgment and, after a hearing, his motion was granted. Because there were no material issues of fact, the trial court declared the statute and ordinance unconstitutional on the basis that it infringed upon Blondis' economic free speech rights. The City appeals from the order granting summary judgment.
On this appeal, neither party has raised the issue that the summary judgment was not proper in this case, so we need not address that subject matter.
At this juncture, we note that no federal or state lower courts can reject a United States Supreme Court's construction of the federal Constitution. Rather, it is the duty of inferior courts to administer the Constitution as construed by our highest court.
Normally, the person attacking the constitutional validity of a statute has the burden of proving unconstitutionality beyond a reasonable doubt.
Commercial speech is speech that proposes a commercial transaction.
(1) if the speech is "commercial", i.e. essentially proposes no more than a commercial transaction, the speech must not be misleading and must concern a lawful activity;
(2) the government must have a "substantial" governmental interest to sustain any restriction;
(3) the regulation of commercial speech which is adopted must "directly advance" that "substantial interest"; and
(4) the restriction must not be more extensive than necessary.19
This test requires a balancing between the governmental interest exerted and the magnitude of the speech restriction.
The City concedes that the "For Sale" sign in Blondis' auto only involved a commercial transaction
In this case, the trial court determined that the statutory ban on "For Sale" signs in a parked or stopped automobile was an unconstitutional interference with Blondis' free commercial speech rights because, although the City has a substantial interest in traffic safety, the statute and thus the ordinance, fail to directly advance the interest asserted.
We agree with the trial court's analysis because, while the statute prevents leaving a vehicle standing on the highway with a "For Sale" sign displayed, it does not prohibit leaving a vehicle standing on a street or highway with any other advertising on it. The purpose for advertising, whether it is a yard sign, a porch sign, a sign on or in a window of a building, or a billboard sign on property adjacent to a highway, is the same as that of vehicles left standing on or off private property with advertising on them. That purpose is to momentarily distract the public using the streets and highways. All the signs discussed above serve the purpose of advertising legitimate commercial transactions by distracting drivers from going about their respective businesses. All signs and advertisements offering such sales of services, products or property distract motorists without violation of this statute or ordinance, except, according to this ordinance/statute, those signs advertising the sale of the
Starting with the dissents in Pittsburgh Press,
The second element to be looked into is whether the government has a substantial interest to sustain any prior restraint restriction against the commercial activities herein involved. Here Blondis concedes, without considering the constitutionality of the ordinance, that the City has a valid argument that it has substantial interest in traffic safety as a valid municipal police power. Like the trial court and the parties here, we agree that traffic safety is a substantial interest of the City.
The City then argues that its substantial interest in traffic safety is directly advanced by the implementation
This theory was rejected by the trial court because the City failed to provide even limited incremental support of the distraction factor for the traffic safety interest it asserted.
Even though it is patently obvious that "For Sale" signs on motor vehicles are distracting, we affirm the trial court's analysis on these points because the commercial activity proscribed is not misleading or illegal per se, and is in fact truthful and legal. Furthermore, while the government has a substantial interest in traffic safety, the distraction to other highway users here is inconsequential considering all other distracting commercial, as well as noncommercial, advertising that is not so proscribed. The law involved here therefore does not directly advance the claimed substantial interest of the municipality for motor vehicle safety. Because the restriction is disproportional and way beyond that necessary for the claimed interest of traffic safety, both the statute and the ordinance are unconstitutional violations of Blondis', and for that matter, every motor vehicle owner's, limited constitutional commercial free speech rights. The trial court's balancing of the City's traffic safety interest against Blondis' commercial speech was correct in declaring the ordinance, and thereby the statute, unconstitutional via summary judgment.
See sec. 3, ch. 454, Laws of 1929.
See Valentine v. Chrestensen, 316 U.S. 52, 54 (1942).
See Boscia v. Warren, 359 F. Supp. 900, 901 (E.D. Wis. 1973); Carpets by the Carload, Inc. v. Warren, 368 F. Supp. 1075, 1078 (E.D. Wis. 1973) (both cases citing Valentine).
413 U.S. 376, 393-404 (1973) (Burger, C.J., Douglas, Stewart, and Blackmun, JJ. dissenting).
Id. at 389-90.
Id. at 388-89.
Id. at 389.
iD. at 393-404.
Bigelow v. Virginia, 421 U.S. 809, 818-24 (1975); State v. Amoco Oil Co., 97 Wis. 2d 226, 256, 293 N.W.2d 487, 502 (1980).
Bigelow, 421 U.S. at 826.
See South Carolina v. Bailey, 289 U.S. 412, 420 (1933).
City of Milwaukee v. Nelson, 149 Wis. 2d 434, 446, 439 N.W.2d 562, 566 (1989).
Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, 471 U.S. 626, 638 (1985).
Jd at 641.
Board of Trustees of State Univ. of N. Y. v. Fox, 109 S. Ct. 3028, 3035 (1989).
Jd
Id. at 3031; Virginia Pharmacy Bd. v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc., 425 U.S. 748, 762 (1976).
Central Hudson Gas & Elec. Corp. v. Public Serv. Comm'n of New York, 447 U.S. 557, 561 (1980).
Id. at 566; Fox, 109 S. Ct. at 3032.
See Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego, 453 U.S. 490, 502 (1981).
413 U.S. at 393-404 (Burger, C.J., Douglas, Stewart and Blackmun, JJ. dissenting).
421 U.S. 809.
See Bolger v. Youngs Drug Prods. Corp., 463 U.S. 60, 73 (1983).
Concurring Opinion
(concurring). I concur in the result.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CITY OF MILWAUKEE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Robert H. BLONDIS, Defendant-Respondent
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- 3 cases
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- Published