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Article
Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune
By
JULIE PACE
Published March 15, 2006
TAMPA - The Army wife fighting to keep her patriotic sign has a new ally, lawyer Luke Lirot, best known for defending the adult entertainment industry.
Lirot, a First Amendment specialist, agreed Tuesday to represent Stacey Kelley, who was cited last month by her homeowners association for a "support our troops" sign posted outside her Westchase home in northwest Hillsborough County.
Kelley, 24, put up the sign in December after her husband, Pfc. David Kelley, deployed to Iraq in November.
Lirot met with Kelley for about two hours Tuesday and called her situation "a clean-cut case."
He said the Westchase deed restriction that prohibits signs is invalid because it violates the First Amendment by giving board members the right to make exceptions at their discretion.
"If you can announce the seasons or the birth of a child, you can certainly announce the reasons for the birth of a nation," said Lirot, who is representing Kelley free.
Westchase prohibits all signs but has made some exceptions, including "for sale," "for rent," home security company and holiday signs.
The association tried to compromise last week, offering to display Kelley's sign in a prominent place in the community. Kelley declined. She said she isn't looking for a legal battle, that she turned to Lirot because she wants to know her rights are being upheld.
"I just want to make sure [the board] is following their rules the way they're making me follow them," she said.
Lirot's list of clients includes high-profile people in the adult entertainment industry.
Lirot said those cases all have similarities to Kelley's situation.
"The issues aren't important," he said. "It's the neutral application of the First Amendment I'm concerned with."
Westchase association President Daryl Manning would not comment on Kelley's choice of attorney but said he, too, would prefer to keep the matter out of court.
"We were hoping she would meet directly with us and hash this out," said Manning, who is a lawyer. "But everyone is entitled to representation."
The association hasn't taken any legal action against Kelley, but Manning said he has spoken about the issue with association attorney Steven Mezer.
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