Attorney General: First Amendment rights violated

Delaware State News

FELTON — A Felton-area resident recently received notice from the state Attorney General’s Office that a sign in his front yard that read "Speed Trap Ahead," was in fact legal and part of his First Amendment rights.

Kurt E. Healy, who lives on southbound U.S. 13 just north of Felton, erected the sign Nov. 3, one day after being ticketed for an expired registration just a short distance from his home.

After he erected the sign, the Delaware Department of Transportation sent Mr. Healy a letter notifying him that it was not approved by DelDOT, and if it was not removed by Christmas Eve, authorities would come and remove it for him. He asked DelDOT officials if he could get approval for the sign, but was told it would never pass.

The Healy family waited outside on Dec. 24 for someone from the department to come and remove the sign, but no one ever showed up, Mr. Healy said.

The letter cited title 21 of state code which states, "The Department of Transportation may erect and maintain all appropriate signals, lights or any other type of sign on private property over which the Department of Safety and Homeland Security has assumed jurisdiction."

The law also states, "Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the erection and maintenance of signs and signals by private owners of the real property, so long as such signs and signals are for the safety and convenience of the public and are approved by the Department of Transportation."

Mr. Healy’s wife, Lisa, contacted a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in an attempt to fight the decision. The lawyer contacted the state Attorney General’s Office.

Jason Miller, spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office, said one of its lawyers consulted with DelDOT about the validity of Mr. Healy’s argument.

"One of our core missions is to protect people’s First Amendment right to the freedom of private expression. In this case, the Healys’ rights were being interfered with and the law was actually on their side," said Drewry N. Fennell, executive director of the ACLU of Delaware.

Darrel Cole, spokesman for DelDOT, said the department unintentionally cited a law that did not apply to the sign in question and will take no further action. He added that DelDOT responded only after the Felton Police Department filed a complaint about the sign, and that DelDOT was acting with the interest of protecting the safety of drivers and passengers on Delaware roads.

Recently, someone came into the yard while the family was at home, and smashed the sign into pieces with a metal chair that was sitting next to it, Mrs. Healy said.

Refusing to get a new piece of foam board, Mr. Healy salvaged the tattered sign by gluing the pieces together and attaching them to planks of wood. The pink sign is now illuminated by a security light and continues to warn drivers of the "Speed Trap Ahead."

The speed limit on U.S. 13 drops from 55 mph to 45 mph just after Mr. Healy’s house as drivers approach town. Felton police will often lie in wait there and catch speeders, Mr. Healy said.

He originally planned on leaving the sign up for 111 days, correlating with the $111 fine he received, but now he intends on keeping it up indefinitely, Mr. Healy said.

"I could see $40-$50 for not getting to the Division of Motor Vehicle on time, but $111?" he said. "That’s ridiculous."

Mr. Healy said he received several phone calls from people telling him the sign was a great idea and that he shouldn’t take it down.

"I’m just trying to slow people down ahead of time before they get to town," he said. "I’m saving them from having to pay a big fine they haven’t budgeted for."