Josephine Havlak Photographer, Inc. v. Village of Twin Oaks, No. 16-3377 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, a commercial photographer, filed suit against the Village for injunctive and declaratory relief after the Village passed a municipal ordinance prohibiting all commercial activity in its neighborhood park without a permit. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of her Free Speech rights claims, holding that the ordinance met constitutional scrutiny as applied to plaintiff because it was content neutral, was narrowly tailored to serve the Village's significant government interests, left ample alternatives for her to communicate her message, and did not provide the Village with unbridled discretion.
Court Description: Smith, Author, with Arnold and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Constitutional law. Defendant's permit policy concerning commercial activity in its public park was facially content neutral and the record does not indicate any governmental purpose to burden any particular message; lack of a permit exception for groups smaller than 10 people did not create a constitutional infirmity; deadlines for obtaining a permit were reasonable; fee was narrowly tailored to the actual costs the village incurs; there were many alternative locations in the St. Louis area where plaintiff could conduct her commercial photography and communicate her message; the ordinance does not leave the defendant with unbridled discretion and its permitting factors survive constitutional scrutiny.
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