Law grad settles First Amendment suit against town that objected to her repurposed skeleton displays
Alexis Luttrell of Tennessee poses with her lawn skeleton dog in Germantown, Tennessee, in February. (Photo courtesy of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression/Prim64 Photography)
A Tennessee woman who repurposed her outdoor Halloween skeletons for other holidays has settled her First Amendment lawsuit against a Memphis, Tennessee, suburb that gave her a citation for refusing to take them down.
The city of Germantown, Tennessee, will pay Alexis Luttrell $24,999 to settle her suit, according to an April 29 press release by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit organization that defends free speech rights and that represented Luttrell in her suit.
Luttrell had displayed an 8-foot skeleton and a skeleton dog for Halloween. After that holiday, she used the skeletons in Election Day and Christmas displays.
In January, Luttrell was charged with violating an ordinance that allowed holiday decorations for a limited time period. Decorations could be displayed beginning 45 days before the holiday for which they are intended and had to be taken down within 30 days after the holiday.
Luttrell is a law school graduate who works in health care compliance for a pharmaceutical company, according to her LinkedIn page.
Germantown dropped the municipal charges against Luttrell in March. On April 28, the city repealed the holiday decorations ordinance.
“Not only am I no longer at risk of being fined for my skeletons, the unconstitutional ordinance is now dead and buried,” Luttrell said in the press release.
She continues to dress the skeletons in different outfits.
“Since February, they’ve been dressed in Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter garb, and Pride Month and Juneteenth are coming up soon,” the press release said.
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