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Architectlisting.com provides links to architect information, building designers, religious structures, building product, house plans, lanscape designs and more across U.S.A. |
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Letting
brokers speak: real estate and free speech
USUALLY WHEN A court refuses to recognize a privilege
for professional journalists, it's seen as a defeat
for the First Amendment. In one recent case, it was
an unambiguous victory. In November a federal judge
overturned a California law requiring any business that
earns money by listing homes for sale to obtain a real
estate broker's license--unless the business happens
to be a newspaper.
The distinction, presumably motivated by a desire to
avoid the appearance of infringing on freedom of the
press, never really made sense, and with the advent
of the Internet its absurdity became glaringly obvious.
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In response to a lawsuit filed
by the Institute for Justice on behalf of ForSaleByOwner.com,
U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England noted that "many
newspapers now maintain websites operating in much the
same manner as the site generated by FSBO"--charging
property owners for listings and offering information
and advice for buyers and sellers. Noting that "the
distinction drawn between the two publishing mediums
appears wholly arbitratry," England concluded that
"California's real estate licensing scheme impermissibly
differentiates between certain types of publications
canting the same basic content."
In finding that the content of ForSaleByOwner.com was
fully protected by the First Amendment, England cited
a 1999 decision (also the result of an Institute for
Justice suit) in which the U.S. District Court in D.C.
rejected a federal licensing requirement for people
who publish advice about commodity trading. Both cases
involved the regulation of speech under the pretext
of regulating professional services. |
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