Throughout history, individuals and groups have produced tracts, essays, manifestos, and open letters intended to influence public opinion or explain complex legal and political questions to broader audiences. The format was often simple: inexpensive paper, straightforward printing methods, and distribution by hand or public posting. One could even argue that America’s most famous “zine” was a series of 85 essays published in newspapers between 1787 and 1788 known today as The Federalist Papers.
Read moreSummertime and the Law
June 21 marks the first official day of summer. Of course, in Houston, summer usually arrives long before the calendar says so, bringing triple-digit temperatures, blazing sunshine, and a renewed appreciation for air conditioning. In celebration of the hottest, brightest season of the year, we've gathered a few legal curiosities inspired by summertime favorites: theme parks, sunshine, swimming, barbecue, and more.
Read moreDecorating for the Holidays? Beware Late Fees!
It’s the holidays, and one way to spread cheer is by decorating! Adorning your familiar haunts is one of people’s favorite things about the season. But even though Halloween is over, there’s still one scare you should be on the look out for. Fines!
Holiday cheer or not, rules still apply. We’ve all heard about the terrifying grip of an HOA, but local ordinances can also seem overzealous and restrictive. From parking on your own lawn to no visible trashcans. And while HOA restrictions on how long your holiday decorations can stick around are well known, they can crop up in your local government too.
But what happens when you get in trouble, and you were following the rules?
In 2024, Alexis Luttrell decorated her home for Halloween with an 8 foot skeleton and a skeleton dog. With the election right around the corner, Luttrell decided to update her skeletons, rather than take them down. She put up campaign signs, flags, and ghosts. However, in December, Luttrell received a notice from the city of Germantown, Tennessee.
The letter stated her decorations were passed the 30 day mark from Halloween, which was the max allowed for them to stay up. Also included in that 30 day countdown, are any decorations put up 10 days prior to the event. Talk about a short leash!
“Holiday and seasonal decorations, including, but not limited to, holiday lights on houses or in the yard or shrubbery, yard ornaments or decorations, and the like, shall not be installed or placed more than 45 days before the date of the holiday for which said decorations are intended and shall be removed within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 30 days, following the date of the holiday for which said decorations were intended. Holiday lights, even if not illuminated, are not permitted to remain on any house or structure year-round.
”Temporary residential and non-residential lighting displays shall not be installed or placed more than ten days prior to the special event and no more than 30 days total.”
Luttrell thought that she could dress her skeletons for the new holiday—Christmas, and that would take care of it. She adorned them with Santa hats, tinsels, and added yard decorations to boot. But in January 2025, she received a second citation. This one with a court summons.
Since the code did not mention skeletons, Luttrell did not believe the city could prohibit their display as part of other holiday decorations. It was, to her, a violation of her First Amendment rights. Free speech advocates agreed, and many reached out when the news broke about the fight brewing in Germantown.
One such group was the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, FIRE. They represented Luttrell and brought a federal suit against the city. All the while, Luttrell continued to dress her skeletons for the holidays. (Valentine’s Day included).
Luttrell ended up coming out on top, with the charges against her being dropped in March. The city agreed to a settlement of $24,999 in April, and they also repealed the ordinance! Luttrell and her team considered this a win for free speech. She simply couldn’t see the harm in what she was doing and had stated early on, “A little whimsy and positivity in these times — why can’t we have more of it?”
It seems like the City of Germantown has come around. Luttrell, and any other resident who feels like being creative and nontraditional with their seasonal decorations, can now express their holiday joy freely.
“Not only am I no longer at risk of being fined for my skeletons, the unconstitutional ordinance is now dead and buried. Today is a victory for anyone who has ever been censored by a government official and chose to fight back.”
Luttrell was actually a law school graduate herself and was savvy enough to recognize the limitations of the ordinance the city tried to use against her. You too can arm yourself with the knowledge you need to defend yourself! Municipal codes can be looked up at no cost, and if you live in an HOA, you can access your rules and restrictions as well.
Don’t let the citation boogeyman chill your holiday cheer! Stay informed, and have a great holiday season!
From Grunts to Greatness: Frankenstein’s Monster and the Evolution of Legal Research
Image Source: https://ndla.no/r/engelsk-2/frankenstein-or-the-modern-prometheus-by-mary-shelley/0d3f85047e, Creative Commons
Much like Frankenstein’s Monster, every researcher begins with a kind of linguistic infancy—punching in a few keywords, seeing what comes up, and hoping for the best. This is the “fire bad” stage of searching: simple, direct, but often imprecise. Then comes the next phase—the learning, the refinement, the humanizing process. As we grow more skilled, we start using controlled vocabularies Boolean operators, and Terms & Connectors to sculpt our queries with precision. We might even engage with AI-powered tools or Large Language Models that can parse meaning, context, and nuance—much like Shelley’s creature learning to manipulate words and master the expression of complex human emotion. This increases the specificity and relevance of our results, and we exclaim: “It’s alive. It’s ALIVE!” The feeling can be electric!
Read moreLet’s Celebrate Ice Cream!
Mmmm! Ice cream! For many of us, just the thought of ice cream conjures up memories of frosty sweetness on warm summer nights, the familiar ring from the bells of the ice cream truck as it rolled down the street, and sticky fingers as the melting ice cream dripped down the side of the crispy cone. Lucky for us, ice cream is perfectly legal (and not to mention absolutely delicious!), and we don’t need a special day to celebrate its yumminess (but we can!) In fact, we can celebrate it all month long because July is National Ice Cream Month. Additionally, the third Sunday of July has been designated National Ice Cream Day. This year, the holiday falls on Sunday, July 20.
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