A Georgia sheriff violated the First Amendment when he posted signs on the lawns of registered sex offenders to warn away trick-or-treaters, a federal appeals court said in a recent ruling. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit unanimously concluded that the signs amounted to unconstitutional government-compelled speech. The decision strikes a blow against irrational policies that stigmatize sex offenders without any plausible public safety payoff—in particular, panicky precautions against the special danger they allegedly pose on Halloween.
Several days before Halloween in 2018, two sheriff's deputies put up cautionary signs in the front yards of all 57 registered sex offenders in Butts County. "WARNING!" the signs said. "NO TRICK-OR-TREATING AT THIS ADDRESS!!" This "community safety message," the signs explained, was "from Butts County Sheriff Gary Long." After trespassing on private property to publicly shame the people living there, the deputies told the affected residents they were not allowed to remove the signs.
