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'Christmas Lawyer' files for Supreme Court review in battle with HOA over holiday light show

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'Christmas Lawyer' files for Supreme Court review in battle with HOA over holiday light show

The self-described “Christmas Lawyer,” who staged elaborate holiday displays in defiance of his former homeowners association, is asking the nation’s highest court to weigh in on the neighborhood feud.

“Who would have thought that nine Justices of the United States Supreme Court are about to sit down over Christmas and read a legal case involving a fundraiser to help families with children suffering from cancer that involves Dolly the Camel, 700,000 Christmas lights, a children’s choir and the REAL SANTA CLAUS testifying in federal court,” Jeremy Morris told Fox News Digital in an email.

Morris, an attorney, gained international prominence in 2015 for throwing a five-day holiday light show that drew thousands of revelers to his former home just outside of Hayden, Idaho, to the dismay of some of his neighbors.

His subsequent fight with his HOA over alleged religious discrimination reached the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled earlier this year partially for Morris, and partially for the HOA.

Jeremy Morris’ five-day Christmas light show to raise money for charity began in 2014. When he moved to a new neighborhood the following year, his homeowners association tried to stop him from repeating the event. (Courtesy Jeremy Morris)

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‘CHRISTMAS LAWYER’ WHO WENT TO WAR WITH HIS HOA IS NOW FACING ANOTHER FIGHT — THE IDAHO STATE BAR

The HOA had until Dec. 19 to file an opposition to Morris’ latest petition, but declined to do so. Attorney Peter Smith said that’s because justices are unlikely to take the case. The Supreme Court is asked to review more than 7,000 cases each year and usually agrees to hear fewer than 100.

“[T]his case does not warrant the Court’s attention given it is an isolated dispute between a homeowner and a homeowners association,” Smith, who is representing the HOA, wrote to Fox News Digital.

Origins of the Christmas light fight

Morris made an offer on a house near Hayden just after throwing his inaugural light show at his previous home over Christmas 2014.

He informed the West Hayden Estates homeowners association that he planned to repeat the event and the HOA immediately tried to squash the Christmas display, arguing it would likely violate three sections of the community’s covenants, conditions and restrictions. The event would be too big, too noisy and too bright, the board wrote in a letter sent to Morris in January 2015.

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Crucially, the letter also pondered whether “non-Christians” would be offended by the display. Morris wrote back, arguing that there was nothing applicable to his event in the CC&Rs and that the board was engaging in religious discrimination. His family closed on the house and moved in.

The HOA board sent this letter to Jeremy Morris in January 2015, outlining rules they believed his Christmas display would violate and worrying that residents who were “non-Christians” might object to the program. (Fox News Digital)

HOA HORROR STORIES: GEORGIA HOMEOWNERS SHARE NIGHTMARISH LEGAL BRAWLS

When Morris started hanging hundreds of thousands of individual bulbs on his house à la Clark Griswold, the HOA’s attorney sent him a letter threatening legal action if he hosted the event without approval from the board.

Morris didn’t back down. Musicians, a children’s choir, a live nativity scene and even a camel greeted spectators. Morris rented shuttle buses to carry visitors to the event, and volunteers directed cars through the streets around the house, according to court documents.

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Tensions grew leading up to the Morris family’s 2016 show. Neighbors were accused of harassing spectators, and Morris said his family received threats, including an in-person confrontation partially caught on camera in which a neighbor offered to “take care of him.”

Morris previously told Fox News Digital he didn’t want to take legal action and offered to waive his rights to proceed with a lawsuit if the HOA agreed to leave his family alone. The HOA refused, he said, and the statute of limitations was almost up on the original letter.

Jury unanimously sided with Morris in discrimination lawsuit, but judge flipped the verdict

Morris sued in January 2017, alleging religious discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act. A jury unanimously sided with him and ordered the HOA to pay $75,000. 

But Judge B. Lynn Winmill took the unusual step of flipping the verdict and ordering Morris to pay the HOA more than $111,000 in legal fees, concluding the case wasn’t about religious discrimination, but rather the Morris family’s violation of neighborhood rules.

Morris, who has since moved out of Idaho, appealed. His case went before the 9th Circuit in June 2020 and waited four years for a ruling.

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In 2018, a jury unanimously agreed that the HOA discriminated against the Morris family when it tried to stop their Christmas show. But the following spring, the federal judge who oversaw the trial made the rare move of flipping the verdict. (Courtesy Jeremy Morris)

‘STOP THE NONSENSE’: LAWMAKERS IN ONE STATE MOVE TO GIVE HOMEOWNERS MORE RIGHTS IN HOA DISPUTES

A three-judge panel affirmed Winmill’s overturning of the jury verdict, concluding that a reasonable jury should not have found the HOA letter from 2015 indicated a preference that a “non-religious individual” buy the Morrises’ home.

But the panel also determined there was enough evidence supporting the jury’s conclusion that the HOA board’s “conduct was motivated at least in part by the Morrises’ religious expression,” according to the more than 100-page ruling.

The 9th Circuit ruling allowed for a new trial, but Morris appealed to the Supreme Court instead. He has “several attorneys potentially lined up” to represent him, and said he’s hopeful his case will appeal to the justices, noting that it encompasses several constitutional rights.

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“The right to celebrate Christmas in accordance with our family’s faith traditions, to use our property to express that Christian faith tradition, and the right to have a unanimous jury verdict protected after 15 hours of deliberations — all are at the core of Constitutional protections and 250 years of American jurisprudence,” he wrote.

Smith previously told Fox News Digital that the HOA “categorically denies it interfered with the Morrises’ right to purchase and enjoy their home free from discrimination” and “has always strived to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment for all residents.”

Around 349,000 Idahoans live in neighborhoods governed by HOAs, just under 20% of the state’s total population, according to 2021 data from the Foundation for Community Association Research.

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San Francisco, CA

The 2026 San Francisco Decorator Showcase’s Patron Preview Gala

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The 2026 San Francisco Decorator Showcase’s Patron Preview Gala


Explore the elegant transformation of a historic Victorian at 2315 Broadway in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights, featuring stunning designs by top talents, exquisite dining options, and live music, all in support of San Francisco University High School.



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Denver, CO

Denver’s playoff flop didn’t cost David Adelman. The roster, though, could be wide open

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Denver’s playoff flop didn’t cost David Adelman. The roster, though, could be wide open


The president and governor of the Denver Nuggets said Friday his faith in coach David Adelman remains strong despite the team’s first-round flop in the playoffs but he indicated a roster overhaul could happen just as much as the team running it back largely intact. “I have full faith in Coach Adelman,” Josh Kroenke said at a news conference at Ball Arena. The Nuggets finished third in the Western Conference at 54-38, behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio.



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Seattle, WA

Seattle Channel’s Susan Han to retire after 18 years

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Seattle Channel’s Susan Han to retire after 18 years


Susan Han, senior producer of the public affairs program City Inside/Out at the Seattle Channel, is retiring this month after nearly two decades of covering politics and community issues in Seattle.

During her tenure, Han helped lead award-winning coverage on topics including elections, police reform, homelessness, teen sex trafficking and public health issues such as safe injection sites.

“I’m most proud of my Emmy for a fentanyl documentary produced with Brian Callanan in 2023,” Han told the Northwest Asian Weekly (NWAW). “I’m grateful for all the talented hosts and hardworking crews I’ve had the good fortune to work with, and for all the guests who said YES to coming on my shows!”

Han also co-produced Seattle Speaks, an interactive town hall series, and contributed reporting to programs including Art Zone, CityStream and Community Stories.

Colleagues and friends praised Han’s dedication and character.

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Susan Han (center) with Assunta Ng (right) and Lori Matsukawa (left). Photo from Assunta Ng.

Former KING 5 anchor Lori Matsukawa said she admired Han’s generosity, recalling that in 2006, while Han was working at KCTS, she co-chaired an Asian American Journalists Association scholarship campaign with Sanjay Bhatt that surpassed its goal ahead of schedule.

“The goal was to raise $100,000 in five years. They did it in four,” Matsukawa said.

She also praised Han’s persistence in journalism.

“She has no fear approaching politicians and other leaders to appear on her program and answer to the people. Her attitude is: That’s their job,” Matsukawa said, adding that Han “has never missed a deadline in the 500-plus shows she’s done at the Seattle Channel.”

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Assunta Ng, founder of the Northwest Asian Weekly, recalled Han’s consistent support during a difficult period in her personal life.

“What can I do?” Han asked Ng when Ng’s husband fell ill. Despite her busy schedule balancing work and family, Han began sending daily messages with humorous clips and cartoons to lift Ng’s spirits.

“Those cartoons often distract me from overthinking and being overwhelmed,” Ng said. “It brings me joy, laughter and surprises. Thank you, Susan, for being a special friend in my life.”

Han said she is looking forward to a break after a long career in television production, though the transition feels surreal.

“I’m still slightly incredulous at the idea of retiring before turning 60, but I’m excited to take a break after a productive and interesting career,” Han said.

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Over her career, Han worked at KING 5, KCTS—now Cascade PBS—and the Seattle Channel. She covered major regional developments, including the election of Gary Locke, Washington’s first Chinese American governor, the legalization of recreational marijuana, the homelessness crisis and the local impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A graduate of the University of Washington, Han has received eight regional Emmy Awards and more than 30 national NATOA awards. Beyond her newsroom work, she has been active in community and nonprofit leadership, including involvement with the Asian American Journalists Association, local parent-teacher associations and the Bellevue School District Multimedia Curriculum Advisory Committee. She has also volunteered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.



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