Norfolk Virginia Free Speech

Central Radio Company v. City of Norfolk
Signs of Abuse in Norfolk, Virginia

.	IJ client Bob Wilson
	IJ clients Bob Wilson and Kelly Dickinson are being blocked by the city of Norfolk, Va., from displaying a banner protesting eminent domain abuse.

In a double blow against free speech and property rights, the city of Norfolk, Va., is not only planning to take a thriving business using its power of eminent domain, but it also wants to censor a powerful and highly visible sign protesting the city’s action.

IJ filed a suit in federal court defending the First Amendment right to protest government action on behalf of Central Radio Company, one of its owners, Bob Wilson, and its vice president, Kelly Dickinson. The city has ordered the sign to be removed. Central Radio, which has been building and repairing ship-based radio equipment in Norfolk since Bob’s uncle founded the company in 1934, has been involved in a two-year battle with the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority (NRHA) to keep its property. The NRHA condemned more than 170 residential, institutional and business buildings in the Hampton Boulevard area near Old Dominion University, claiming the area was blighted, in order to hand the properties over to the university. The university currently has no specific plans for the use of Central Radio’s property. After losing an initial fight in Virginia trial court to keep their property, Bob and Kelly decided to take their battle to the court of public opinion. With Central Radio co-owner Ed Dickinson, they hung a 375-square-foot banner on the side of their building.

In an effort to shut down the protest against government abuse, city inspectors soon came calling and cited Central Radio for violating Norfolk’s sign code. The code prevents Central Radio from posting a sign any larger than 60 square feet—one sixth the size of their current sign, which can currently be read from blocks away on busy Hampton Road.