St. Louis Free Speech

Neighborhood Enterprises, Inc. v. City of St. Louis
Signs of Abuse: Fighting Censorship and Eminent Domain Abuse in St. Louis

IJ client Jim Roos

IJ client Jim Roos' Mural

In a double blow to free speech and property rights, the city of St. Louis not only threatened to take an entire neighborhood for private development—it tried to censor a powerful and highly visible mural that protests the city’s eminent domain abuse and urges reform of Missouri’s eminent domain laws.

Fed up with eminent domain abuse across Missouri—and against properties owned by the non-profit, low-income housing organization he runs—Jim Roos fought back.  He had a large mural painted on his building at 1806 S. 13th Street, in a neighborhood targeted for redevelopment.  The mural protests the city’s abuse and advocates for statewide eminent domain reform.

But the city of St. Louis wanted the mural taken down.

IJ argued that if the First Amendment means anything, it must mean that citizens like Jim Roos have the right to effectively protest government abuse and build support for meaningful reform—without having to get government approval.

In July 2011, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Jim and his claims, providing strong free speech protections for those who wish to speak out on the issues that matter to them.  The city appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which, in February 2012, declined to take the case.  So the 8th Circuit’s decision, and its strong free speech protections, stands.