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G <br /> i <br /> Mashpee Article 45 <br /> ii <br /> section 174-54(I). political signs are limited as to time (30 days before and election; 24 hours <br /> after) and size (6 square feet). These limits violate the Constitution. <br /> Property owners have a protected right to put up signs on their property expressing their <br /> political or religious beliefs. In City of Ladue v. Gilleo, 114 S. Ct. 2038 (1994),the Supreme j <br /> Court upheld the right of a person to place a political cause sign on her house expressing <br /> opposition to the Persian Gulf war. In Whitton v. City of Gladstone, 54 F.3d 1400 (8th Cir. <br /> 1995), a candidate challenged an ordinance which prohibited a commercial or residential <br /> landowner from placing a political sign on his property more than 30 days prior to an election <br /> and required removal of the sign within 7 days after the election. The Whitton court found this <br /> to be an "unconstitutional restraint on free speech," reasoning that the ordinance impermissibly <br /> singled out protected speech(the signs) for regulation because other signs were allowed to <br /> remain up for a longer period of time. Id. at 1409. A sign protected by the First Amendment <br /> may be as large as other signs not protected by the First Amendment. Id. at 1406. <br /> tilerely, <br /> i � <br /> Kathryn B. Palmer <br /> Assistant Attorney General <br /> Municipal Law Unit <br /> (617) 727-2200 x 2085/2096 <br /> Enc. <br /> j <br /> cc: Kopelman&Paige, 31 St. James Ave., Boston, MA 02116 <br /> Eric Smith, Mashpee Planning Dept., 16 Great Neck Road N.,Mashpee,MA 02649 j <br /> Mashpee Board of Selectmen, 16 Great Neck Road N.,Mashpee, MA 02649 <br /> 1 <br /> II <br /> i <br />