Last summer, we reported that the U.S. Supreme Court granted Good News Community Church’s (Church) petition for a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, No. 11-15555 (9th Cir. 2013). The case involves a sign ordinance in the Town of Gilbert that the Church alleges violates its right to free speech.  The Supreme Court heard argument in Reed on Monday, January 12, 2015 and a transcript from the hearing is available here.

Although the justices did not consider a Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act claim, or a specific “religious speech” issue, the Court’s decision will likely have a large impact on how local governments approach sign regulation.  Professor Daniel R. Mandelker[i] of Washington University School of Law, observes,

The case is critical to sign regulation as it applies to land use law, as it deals with the standard of judicial review and should provide direction on how local governments can include exceptions in sign ordinances.
Continue Reading The High Court Hears Argument: Is Gilbert’s Sign Ordinance Content-Neutral? What Standard of Review Should Apply?