A judge in Sanford ruled Tuesday that a Lake Mary man was lawfully exercising his First Amendment rights when he flashed his headlights to warn neighbors that a deputy had set up a speed trap nearby.
That decision is another victory for Ryan Kintner, 25, who sued the Seminole County Sheriff's Office last year, accusing it of misconstruing a state law and violating his civil rights, principally his right to free speech.
He was ticketed Aug. 10 by a Seminole County deputy, but Kintner alleges the officer misapplied a state law designed to ban motorists from flashing after-market emergency lights.
Circuit Judge Alan Dickey earlier ruled that that state law does not apply to people who did what Kintner did, use his headlights to communicate.
On Tuesday the judge went a step further, saying people who flash their headlights to communicate are engaging in behavior protected by the U.S. Constitution.
"He felt the police specificially went out of their way to silence Mr. Kintner and that it was clearly a violation of his First Amendment free speech rights," said his attorney, J. Marcus Jones of Oviedo.
Jones has filed a similar but much broader suit in Tallahassee against the Florida Highway Patrol.
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6 comments:
It doesn't happen very often lately, but score one for the people....
The judge got that one correct!
The police HATE it when they aren't allowed to tell "we, the people" when we are ALLOWED to be free and exercise our rights. Public Masters always resent being told they SERVE and not kill. I mean "protect". Yeah. THAT'S what I meant. Flash your lights ANY TIME you want to...pull over and hold up a sign that says "radar ahead". Sort of like opening a window and yelling "I'm mad as hell and I'm not taking it anymore!". Kudo's to Citizen Kane.
I had an argument with my girlfreind abou tthis the other night because I was doing the same thing. She said that the police could pull me over for it. I was saying that I did not believe they could. Guess we see who won that fight lol. I acutally flashed a cop the other night as he was coming for back up and I had no idea it was a cop and he did not pull me over.
That is a ill written law. Try that flashing crap here in Maryland. There is a specific law for flashing headlights, that is nothing to do or is like the Florida law.
the entire point of speed enforcement is to deter people from speeding.
the entire point of flashing your lights is to deter people from speeding.
looks to me as if its a win-win situation...unless of course it is more about the money than the speed deterent. hmmmmmmm
11:24.....I hope that some cop DOES ticket a driver for flashing his lights. We'll get another court case that will make the gestapo look as stupid as they are. Again. Just because "htere is a specific law" does NOT mean it will stand up to scrutiny in a court. or, if necessary, on appeal (beacuse just about every local judge is so intent on kissing the ace of the police, they carry a special cloth to wipe their mouth off. Some don't even bother to wipe. It would take up too much of their time.
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