KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law requiring child sex offenders to post “no candy” signs on Halloween, finding the requirement violates the First Amendment.

U.S. District Court Judge John A. Ross ruled on Oct. 2 that the state law amounts to compelled speech that violates the rights of individuals on the Missouri sex offender registry for crimes against children, which includes sexual and non-sexual offenses. Ross blocked Missouri from enforcing the rule, calling it unconstitutional.

The decision, coming less than a month before Halloween, caps a year-long legal battle over the requirement. In October 2023, Thomas L. Sanderson, who was convicted of a sex offense in 2006 and lives in St. Louis County, sued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to challenge the sign-posting requirement.

But Ross’ 23-page ruling is certain to set off a new, furious legal battle ahead of Halloween. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican on the Nov. 5 ballot, has vowed to fight the decision.

The Missouri law – called the “Halloween Statute” – requires offenders to avoid Halloween-related contact with children, to generally remain inside their residence between 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Halloween, leave all residential lighting off that evening and post a sign stating “no candy or treats at this residence.”

The judge’s decision strikes down only the sign requirement.

“The Court finds that Halloween Statute’s sign posting requirement … is compelled speech,” Ross wrote. “Plaintiff has proven that the sign posting requirement compels him to speak a viewpoint in written words, directed to the public, that he does not adhere to, in violation of the First Amendment.”

Bailey on social media promised to appeal “immediately.”

“I want Missouri to be the safest state in the nation for children,” Bailey said. “That includes on Halloween.”

Sanderson was convicted of a sex offense in 2006 after he and his family moved to Hazelwood in St. Louis County in 2000. Every year on Halloween he has thrown large parties, hosted bonfires and handed out candy to children, Ross wrote. Sanderson testified that he didn’t believe Missouri’s Halloween law applied to him since he was convicted before it was enacted in 2008.

Hazelwood police began looking into Sanderson on Oct. 31, 2022, after finding him dressed up in costume and handing out candy to children. Officers also saw no sign posted at his house and instructed him to stop.

Ross wrote that Sanderson persisted, however, and was arrested on Nov. 3, 2022. Prosecutors charged him with violating the law and he pleaded guilty, receiving a suspended imposition of sentence with 12 months unsupervised probation.

After Sanderson sued on Oct. 3, 2023, a bench trial was held in June 2024. The defendants in the lawsuit were Bailey and the Hazelwood police chief.

“The sign contains no warning that there is a convicted sex offender or other dangerous person at the residence,” Ross wrote. “The sign posting requirement does not even dictate the font size or location of the sign to ensure visibility to children or others.”

While Ross wrote that he doesn’t discount the government’s interest in protecting children from sex offenders on Halloween, “the evidence fails to show that the sign posting requirement is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest in the least restrictive manner.”

_____

©2024 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.