ALBANY -- No, you can't claim that a free newspaper delivered on your lawn is littering.
That was the decision last week by a town judge in Queensbury near Lake George after a group of residents filed a complaint last year against a weekly newspaper being distributed to homeowners.
The residents contended they didn't want the weekly paper called “This Week” and published by the daily newspaper The Post-Star.
So they sought to bring littering charges against its publisher, Robert Forcey.
But the court ruled against the complainants, saying the delivery of the newspaper is protected by the First Amendment and not littering as defined in New York vehicle and traffic laws.
"Although it can be reasonably argued that there is a substantial governmental interest in keeping communities and streetscapes 'litter free,' this statute was neither intended, nor can it be properly construed to prohibit the distribution of 'This Week' as alleged by these complainants," ruled Town Justice Michael Muller on May 2.
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Muller cited Thomas Jefferson and prior legal precedent that provides "great protection to a newspaper's right to disseminate information to the public" under the First Amendment, according to a Kentucky case last year.
Since "The Week" includes advertising and "newsworthy articles," it cannot be considered as litter, he wrote.
Forcey said he was pleased with the decision.
“We are glad that the courts have agreed with us,” Forcey said in The Post-Star.
“To our organization, this has always been a First Amendment issue and we believe that the courts concurred.”
The Post-Star said the charges were filed last October by a group of Queensbury Republicans unhappy with the paper's coverage of the town supervisor race.
The Warren County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday it will abide by the judge's ruling.
"We respect the court’s decision, and we will not be filing an appeal," District Attorney Jason Carusone said.