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

IJ client Jim Roos' Mural

In a double blow to free speech and property rights, the city of St. Louis is not only threatening to take an entire neighborhood for private development—it wants to censor a powerful and highly visible mural protesting the city’s eminent domain abuse and building support for reform.

Fed up with eminent domain abuse across Missouri—and against properties he owns and manages—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 wants the mural taken down.

IJ argues 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.