Relevant excerpts from original complaint filed on January 3, 2002
This is a civil rights action brought under U.S.C.
§1983 seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and punitive damages against
the Defendants captioned above for the unconstitutional application of the
Fayetteville city sign ordinance. The
manner in which the City of Fayetteville (“City”) sign ordinance is
enforced amounts to nothing less than content-based regulation of signs.
In the application of its sign ordinance the City restricts electronic signs, such as described above, based on their content. If an electronic sign is displaying the noncommercial message of time and temperature, it is allowed, under official Fayetteville policy, to change the wording and characters on its sign-face at will. If, however, the electronic sign is displaying the political and religious beliefs of it’s owner, the sign cannot similarly function. (p. 5)
In violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. §1983, the Defendants have acted under color of state law to deprive the Plaintiff of my right to freedom of speech guaranteed under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by charging and convicting me of criminal activity when in fact it was the Defendants that acted unlawfully.(p.6)
In restricting the expression my political and religious opinions, the
City has based its actions on a suspect classification (religion) and
infringes on fundamental rights (freedom of speech and free exercise of
religion). Because the City’s
application of its sign ordinance is based on a suspect classification and
infringes on fundamental rights, it violates the Equal protection Clause of
the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Plaintiff further requests punitive damages of not less than
$10,000,00.00 (ten million dollars) to provide the City and its officials with
ample incentive not to drag its citizens into court to defend against charges
based on the unconstitutional application of city ordinances.
Moreover, City officials that offer perjured testimony and/or attempt
to improperly influence witnesses, should be given every form of incentive not
to engage in such malicious activities ever again.