March 28-First Amendment 
Government Speech and Public Forums

Speakers: Randal Morrison, Susan Trevarthen & Gerald Hicks

What limits can be placed on public comment or advertising in various kinds of public forums? How far do the protections of the government speech doctrine reach in an era of public private partnerships? These questions have gained new urgency following the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert. Sign law guru Randal Morrison will join one of his co-authors of the IMLA joint amicus brief in Reed, Susan Trevarthen, and Sacramento city attorney Gerald Hicks to explain the current state of the law governing public fora and government speech.

Speakers: Randal Morrison, Susan Trevarthen & Gerald Hicks 

Susan Trevarthen ESQ., FAICP chairs the Municipal Land Use and Zoning practice and is a Member of the law firm of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, P.L. in Fort Lauderdale. She handles land use, planning and zoning matters for governments, and is Town Attorney for a Broward coastal community. Her work includes reviewing and negotiating development agreements and approvals, drafting municipal codes and plans, advising municipal staffs, managers and attorneys, defending challenges to municipal regulations and decisions, handling public hearings, and counseling elected officials, as well as advocating for municipalities on legislative issues in her field. Her practice also includes constitutional law issues (such as takings, Harris Act, and First Amendment-protected land uses including signs), public school facilities, and hot topics in zoning law. Ms. Trevarthen has been board certified in City, County and Local Government Law by the Florida Bar since 2003, has been recognized as one of the top land use attorneys in the state in publications such as Florida Trend Magazine and SuperLawyers, and is AV rated. She has also held leadership positions in the Florida Bar’s Section for Environmental and Land Use Law and Section for City, County and Local Government Law. Susan grew up in Boca Raton, Florida. She was graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a joint degree in law and planning (M.R.P. and J.D., 1991) and from Duke University (A.B., 1986), and is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Gerald Hicks – Click here to view his bio.

Randal Morrison -- Randy to friends -- is a nationally recognized authority on the law of signs, billboards, public forum and government speech. He has specialized in those topics since the early 1990s, often defending city governments sued by billboard companies. He is Director of Litigation with Sabine & Morrison, a San Diego based firm that works primarily in public agency law. He is admitted to the US Supreme (and has written or co-written five briefs for cases in that court), five of the federal courts of appeal, all California courts, and has appeared pro hac vice in several other state courts. He has also arbitrated international trademark with the International Chamber of Commerce in London UK. Westlaw editors chose one of his briefs as Trial Court Brief of the Day (2009 WL 4658928). Prior to law school he worked as a radio broadcaster, primarily as a program host (DJ) and music programming.