⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Seventh Circuit hears Mark Brandon Hamman's dispute with Carbondale, Illinois, over anti-abortion yard signs. In April 2025, Hamman planted small signs on a grassy public right-of-way outside a reproductive-health clinic. City officials told him he could carry the signs but could not leave them staked there; he removed them without receiving a citation. Hamman sued, alleging that the sign rules are unclear and discriminate against his message. A district judge refused to temporarily bar enforcement while the lawsuit continues, finding his First Amendment claim unlikely to succeed. Now the appeals court will examine whether the wording gives fair notice, whether the restriction is sufficiently narrow, and whether the exceptions favor certain kinds of speech.

Mark Hamman v. City of Carbondale, Illinois (No. 26-1133) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued September 22, 2026.