Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Landmark Billboard Case

The U.S. Supreme Court (Supreme Court) has agreed to hear a First Amendment appeal likely to determine the fate of thousands of state and local sign regulations across the country.

On-premises signs advertise some good, service, or activity available on the same property as the sign. They are the signs most of us rely on to know that a Starbucks is a Starbucks, the local tire store is a tire store, and the neighborhood house of worship is a house of worship. Off-premises signs are what most of us know as billboards. They advertise goods, services, or activities available on some other property.

Austin, Texas - like thousands of other municipalities - regulates billboards more strictly than on-premises signs. For example, Austin permits on-premises signs to include digital technology but prohibits digital billboards. Applying a categorical rule that it and the Sixth Circuit adopted following Reed v. Town of Gilbert, the Fifth Circuit held that Austin's distinction