Sweetwater County, Green River, Wyoming

Apparently built around and partially from the old county hospital, the courthouse has a very interesting facade with texture that in many respects mirrors the the landscape against which it sits. Some reports include reference to the fact that the old hospital nurses quarters were haunted, and that even to this day on Halloween strange things occur in the courthouse!



Green River is located in the Flaming Gorge area of southwestern Wyoming. The courthouse is modern but fits well into the surrounding landscape. Notice in the picture the rock formation in the left hand background. This is typical of the views all around the courthouse which sits in the foothills overlooking the town.

The town and the courthouse may be most well known for the seminal case regarding the right to solicit door to door, which arose out of an ordinance adopted by the town and challenged by the Fuller Brush Company in the early 30's. Town of Green River, Wyoming v. Fuller Brush Co., 65 F.2d 112 (10th Cir. 1933). "Green River" ordinances entirely prohibit and declare the practice of uninvited house-to-house canvassing to be a nuisance and misdemeanor punishable by fine and imprisonment Such ordinances have been upheld in the past by the United States Supreme Court. These types of ordinances have been ruled unconstitutional when they prohibit religious or noncommercial door-to-door solicitation. The U.S. Supreme Court on June 17, 2002 by a vote of 8-1, invalidated a Stratton, Ohio ordinance that required canvassers to register and obtain a permit from the mayor's office before going door-to-door promoting any cause (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc. v. Village of Stratton). The Court held that the ordinance violated the First Amendment as it applied to religious proselytizing, anonymous political speech, and the distribution of handbills. Commercial soliciting however remains subject to local regulation and the proliferation of "Green River Ordinances" continues.