HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS OR FIGHTINGWORDS? A Grave Legal Matter
We’ve all played a harmless trick or two, but sometimes, Halloween shenanigans get out of hand. They can lead to hurt feelings, outraged neighbors, and, in the case of Purtell v. Mason, a lawsuit. In the days leading up to Halloween, all was not quiet in the village of Bloomingdale. Previously parked in a storage unit, Jeff and Vicki Purtell’s 38-foot RV was now parked in front of their house. In protest, neighbors petitioned to town officials, wanting an ordinance put in place to prohibit RV parking on residential property. While the ordinance was under consideration, Jeff Purtell took matters into his own hands. He erected six wooden tombstones in his front yard. They seemed to be innocuous Halloween decorations, but these tombstones displayed a special message for the neighbors. Each headstone was inscribed with a sarcastic message and house number, implying the occupants’ death dates. These messages soon caught the neighbors’ attention. “Bette wasn't ready, but here she lies, ever since that night she died. Twelve feet deep in this trench, still wasn't deep enough for that stench! 1690.”
Insulted and a little afraid, Purtell’s neighbors called the police to have the headstones removed. After a couple of visits, Officer Bruce Mason arrived and threatened to arrest Purtell if he didn’t take the tombstones down. Purtell obliged, but the matter wasn’t put to rest. The Verdict Purtell sued Officer Mason on the grounds of violating his rights to free speech, and the case made it all the way to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Sykes ruled that the tombstones did not constitute fighting words and were protected under the First Amendment. However, she also ruled that Officer Mason was entitled to qualified immunity, as any reasonable officer would act the same under the circumstances. The bigger question might be how this case made it all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals. As Judge Sykes wrote in her opinion, “Lawsuits like this one cast the legal profession in a bad light and contribute to the impression that Americans are an overlawyered and excessively litigious people.”
WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
Our Team Can Help You Breathe a Little Easier This Month With Halloween coming up at the end of the month, the subject of fear can plague many people. Between your kids or grandkids begging you to take them to a darkly lit haunted house and trick-or-treaters standing on your front porch donning scary costumes, you’re bound to feel a little spooked this month. While the fear associated with Halloween tends to dissipate once November rolls around, one of life’s biggest fears — ensuring that your family is taken care of — can assuredly cause you stress if you don’t take the right steps to protect your assets and ensure the wishes for your estate are honored. That’s what our team here at Hegwood Law Group aims to do! We meet with clients, listen to and understand their individual situations, and then help them come up with a suitable plan, all while simultaneously building friendly and long-lasting professional relationships. Check out what this client had to say about our team!
“Hegwood Law Group is filled with a wonderfully competent team. Kim prepared all of our family’s estate planning
requests, including our trusts, powers of attorney, guardian docs, wills, and medical directive or end-of-life documents. She made us feel like we are part of the family, and, every time we go into the office, Kim makes our entire family feel right at home. What’s more is that all the office staff members are friendly and go above and beyond to meet our requests and help us out. This is THE office for any estate planning, probate, Medicaid, family, and guardianship needs.” If you’re hoping to reduce some of your stress or fear regarding estate planning, don’t wait any longer to give our office a call, and let Kim and her team help you in the exact same way they helped this client! Even if you’ve already paid our office a visit, do your friends and family members a friendly favor by referring them to our team. Help your loved ones get in touch with Kim and the rest of our team by passing along our number: 281-218-0880. Thank you for your time and your help! Happy Halloween!
2 HEGWOOD LAW GROUP
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