August 10, 2013 9:04 pm

A deal is a deal, except when it violates the state or federal constitution.

On first blush, the case of Peter and Peg Jasinski of Queensbury seems straightforward. The Jasinkis voluntarily bought a house in the Hudson Pointe development, where a homeowners association sets rules all homeowners must agree to follow. One of those rules bans the public display of signs in windows or on lawns or doors or anywhere else on the property.

The Jasinkis didn’t have to buy the house, and if they objected to the association’s rules, they could have gone elsewhere. Most neighborhoods in Queensbury don’t ban political signs, which is what the Jasinkis have been periodically planting in front of their house.

The Queensbury case is being fought in the usual way, with lawyers arguing over the meanings of words and phrases while racking up billable hours.

But larger issues are at stake in this case, as other courts have recognized.

In June, the New Jersey Supreme Court (the top court in New Jersey) decided a homeowners association rule banning the display of political signs “violates the free speech clause of the State Constitution.” Read more…..