Seattle compost rule thrown out by judge as unconstitutional

[branford]

23. You second set of ideas might face some legal problems.

The government generally cannot mandate a waiver of a legal right as a condition of being provided with a generally available public service. Courts are unsurprisingly reluctant to let governments use backdoor or tricky means to violate rights.

For instance, what would stop a municipality from demanding waiver of other matters, including the speech, search, assembly and other restrictions, as a condition of refuse removal.

Absent a reversal on appeal, the city will likely have to devise an incentive, rather than punitive or intrusive, system to encourage compliance with the composting law.