Rory Douglas Wilson v. Idaho

Respondent Moscow, Idaho has an ordinance prohibiting “any notice, sign, announcement, or other advertising matter” in the public square without the property owner’s permission. Signs and other messages—including political messages such as “F*** Trump,” “Gegen Nazis,” and “Pride” art—nonetheless blanket downtown Moscow. In keeping with these signs, petitioner Rory Wilson posted removable vinyl stickers critical of Moscow’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: the words “Soviet Moscow,” a reference to the U.S.S.R.’s authoritarian government, juxtaposed against the public-health slogan Moscow adopted in connection with its restrictive COVID-19 policies: “Enforced Because We Care.” In response, Moscow enforced its ordinance for the first and only time in the ordinance’s decade-plus history against Wilson. Moscow singled out Wilson because officials disagreed with his message; as the arresting officer told Wilson’s father, “I don’t agree with the messaging.” And to add constitutional insult to constitutional injury, Wilson’s sentence, if left to stand, requires him to write an essay explaining why he was wrong—that is, sentencing Wilson to compelled speech as punishment for disfavored speech. The question presented is: Whether Moscow’s ordinance or prosecution of Wilson violates the First or Fourteenth Amendments. (I)