Justice dismisses charge over messages on trailer

GOUVERNEUR — A Gouverneur town justice has dismissed a charge against a contractor whom the town claimed did not have a sign permit needed to display religious messages on his trailer.

Daniel W. Burritt, owner of Acts II Construction, 662 Route 11, had been ticketed for not having a permit for the trailer that displays numerous messages.

The town claimed he was using the trailer as a billboard, while he contends the messages are protected by his First Amendment rights of free speech.

His case has been taken up by the Alliance Defense Fund, Washington, D.C., a legal group that advocates for religious freedoms, which agrees that his constitutional rights have been jeopardized.

Town Justice John W. Riordan did not address the free speech argument, but ruled Thursday that town law does not mention that a permit is required to erect a sign.

He dismissed the charge against Mr. Burritt.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Transportation has agreed to take no further action against Mr. Burritt until a separate case involving the trailer's potential removal can be resolved in federal court.

Mr. Burritt sued DOT this week in U.S. District Court after the state agency told him he had to move the trailer from the state highway right of way and register it as a sign.

DOT gave Mr. Burritt until Sunday to remove the trailer or the agency said it would do it for him. Mr. Burritt sued the agency Tuesday, claiming it was violating his First Amendment rights of free speech by not allowing him to display his messages.

Mr. Burritt asked the federal court for a temporary restraining order preventing the trailer's removal. Before the matter of a temporary order could be heard in court, DOT stipulated that it would agree to hold the removal action in abeyance until a court ruling can be made, according to documents filed Thursday with the court.

A court ruling could include the approval or denial of Mr. Burritt's request for a preliminary injunction allowing him to continue to display the messages or it could include the approval of DOT's motion to have the lawsuit dismissed, court documents show.

In its stipulation, DOT agreed that, if the court decision goes against Mr. Burritt, it will give him 30 days from the date the court order is entered to remove the trailer.

A hearing on Mr. Burritt's request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Sept. 26 in District Court in Binghamton.