Signs Warning Against Drug Sales Criticized by Legal Scholars : Courts: Judge tells man to post notices after police suspect him of selling narcotics. But experts say that may violate free speech rulings.

Civil libertarians Thursday criticized an Orange County judge’s order forcing a condominium owner to post signs on his property saying that his home must not be used for drug dealing.

Legal scholars and defense attorneys said the preliminary injunction, sought by the city to curb what police allege is a yearlong pattern of drug sales, may violate homeowner Garrie Charles Culver’s right to free speech--in this case his right not to be forced to announce to his neighborhood that police suspect drugs are being sold from his home.

“Just as you have a right to speak, the (U.S.) Supreme Court has found that you also have a right not to speak,” USC law professor Erwin Chemerinsky said. “In this case, not only is the court forcing him to speak, but forcing him to speak in a way that is quite embarrassing.”

The city of Fountain Valley obtained the unusual order against Culver after filing a civil suit alleging that his condominium had become a public nuisance.

Police say that neighbors have complained for a year about alleged drug dealing from the home, and that informants have bought drugs there. Culver says he is innocent and a victim of hearsay.

A year ago, Culver and his sister-in-law, Laura Ann Riley, were cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, a misdemeanor, court records show. Although police have searched Culver’s condo three times in the last year, they have not found enough evidence to charge him or anyone else in the home with selling illegal drugs.

The preliminary injunction, signed Monday by Orange County Superior Court Judge C. Robert Jameson, orders Culver to “post a sign on the property, visible to those who approach the entrance to the premises . . . stating that the premises are under court order and are not to be used for the sale of illegal drugs.”

Though Culver insists he is innocent, he has erected signs that read, in part: “No illegal drugs will be sold or given to any persons entering or leaving premises. These premises are being watched by FVPD,” the Fountain Valley Police Department.

Critics say that by pursuing civil instead of criminal action against Culver, the city will find it easier to punish Culver. To win a civil suit, authorities need demonstrate only that a preponderance of the evidence suggests that drug dealing is occurring at the home. A criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Such civil suits have been frequently used by Oakland, and federal authorities routinely press civil forfeiture cases to strip suspected drug dealers of ill-gotten gains. But opponents say such lawsuits against those who have not been convicted of a crime deny their targets the constitutional protections afforded criminal defendants.

“To force anyone to make a statement or to post signs on a residence, even when one has been charged, tried and convicted of something, raises real problems,” said Jesse Choper, former dean of UC Berkeley’s Law School.

Fountain Valley City Atty. Alan R. Burns said the suit was authorized by the City Council and falls within the 1972 Drug Abatement Act, which allows the posting of signs on suspected drug premises.