Pamphlets under windshield wipers

[MelodicaVagrant]

This pertains to Alabama, particularly Jefferson County.
I would like to know whether it is legal in this county to put flyers/pamphlets underneath cars. I have seen it done before, so I'm not too worried, but I want to know if it's strictly on the up-and-up around here.

 

[Zigner]

Yes - free speech.

EDIT: What grinds my gears is all the "newspapers" that get tossed on to my driveway and lawn that are, in essence, just bundles of advertisements.

 

[quincy]

You will need to check your city/township ordinances.

 

[MelodicaVagrant]

You will need to check your city/township ordinances.

What would the wording for such a provision look like?

 

[quincy]

Yes - free speech.

EDIT: What grinds my gears is all the "newspapers" that get tossed on to my driveway and lawn that are, in essence, just bundles of advertisements.

Regulations on this type of advertising can fall under a city's littering or solicitation or trespassing ordinances.

 

[Zigner]

It would be worded like this:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

and this

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

 

[quincy]

Sorry, Zigner, but this is not a free speech issue.

 

[Zigner]

This is all hypothetical (per the OP), so I am going to hypothesize that the flyers in question are legal as free speech.

 

[Zigner]

The various appeals courts have come to different/conflicting opinions about this matter

 

[quincy]

This is all hypothetical (per the OP), so I am going to hypothesize that the flyers in question are legal as free speech.

Well ... hypothesize away but the legality depends on ordinances.

You generally do not have a legal right to advertise on someone else's property.

 

[Zigner]

Well ... hypothesize away but the legality depends on ordinances.

...and the constitutionality thereof

 

[Zigner]

To add a twist: If this is occurring on private property, then city ordinances might not even apply.

 

[quincy]

Do you have a link to a case that shows posting flyers on other people's property is legal?

You generally can stand on a street corner and pass out flyers to passersby (although you might need a permit to do so).

 

[Zigner]

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-8th-circuit/1381522.html
Not the same Circuit - and the 6th actually came to a different conclusion in a similar case. In THIS instance we don't have nearly enough information to respond to the OP, particularly since this is hypothetical and the facts can be changed at any moment.

 

[quincy]

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-8th-circuit/1381522.html
Not the same Circuit - and the 6th actually came to a different conclusion in a similar case. In THIS instance we don't have nearly enough information to respond to the OP, particularly since this is hypothetical and the facts can be changed at any moment.

So, again, MelodicaVagrant will need to check the local ordinances.