NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge says New Orleans cannot make a landowner take down a mural of infamous quotes recorded when Donald Trump was on “Access Hollywood” in 2005.
Judge Martin Feldman ruled Tuesday that the city’s mural ordinance violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech and may not be enforced. He says the zoning ordinance uses “indistinct, shapeless and obscure” phrases to define murals, so that people could not understand when a permit is required. He also rejected arguments that the city wants an advance look at murals only to tell whether they should be regulated as commercial signs or not.
Feldman ruled one day after hearing arguments on landowner Neal Morris’ assertion that the regulations are clearly unconstitutional and the city should be barred from enforcing them.