Woman Sues Over Ticket for Anti-Bush Bumpersticker

[arbus]

Woman Sues Over Ticket for Anti-Bush Bumper Sticker
By DANIEL YEE, AP

ATLANTA (Oct. 17) - A woman who was ticketed for having an obscene anti-President Bush bumper sticker filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday against DeKalb County and its officials.

Denise Grier, 47, of Athens, Ga., got a $100 ticket in March after a DeKalb County police officer spotted the bumper sticker, which read "I'm Tired Of All The BU*****." (The actual bumper sticker didn't delete any letters.)

Although a DeKalb judge threw out the ticket in April because the state's lewd decal law that formed the basis for the ticket was ruled unconstitutional in 1990, Grier is seeking damages for "emotional distress" against the county, according to the lawsuit.

Grier also seeks a declaration in federal court that her bumper sticker is considered protected speech under the First Amendment because she is "uncertain and insecure regarding her right to display her bumper sticker in DeKalb County," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

"This type of sarcasm in relation to political figures is as old as the country," said her attorney, Frank Derrickson. "We think this bumper sticker is just the latest example of this. We want to be assured that not just Ms. Grier but anyone who wants to have fun with the powers that be should be able to do that under the First Amendment."

Grier, a nurse who works at Emory University and other hospitals, also is seeking punitive damages against the DeKalb police officer who gave her the ticket because he "acted with reckless disregard" of her rights, the lawsuit said.

The state law prohibited lewd or profane stickers and decals on vehicles. A phone message to the office of DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones was not immediately returned Monday.

Derrickson said Grier still has the anti-Bush bumper sticker on her car.

"I think she's got better ones than that, at least the ones that I saw," he said.


http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/woman-sues-over-ticket-for-anti-bush/20061016161609990010?ncid=NWS00010000000001

[faithfulservant]

Ah the culture of victimhood raises it's sorry head once again. The lady had every right to display her sticker and the police officer had every reason to ticket her and let the courts decide if it was legitimate. If he wasn't sure about it, then he should have followed the law as he understood it and allowed the legal system to take it's course - as it did. Now, she's suing for some kind of mythical emotional distress and trying to get a bunch of money and some nice publicity for herself. I hope this not onlt gets thrown out of court, but that the court requires her to pay all costs associated with filing this suit. BTW - If the sticker was anti-liberal and it was a conservative filing this suit, I'd feel the same way. Oddly enough, you just don't hear too much about conservatives filing these kind of suits, do you?

[Dangerrmouse]

They're a pretty humourless bunch, if you take the cartoon thread as an indicator. Very few "conservative" ones, and all of them as funny as pneumonia.

[burntgorilla]

Well, if she can have that sticker, then I should be able to have one saying "you're a ****ing ****!" I can't see that one being allowed.

[faithfulservant]

Well, if she can have that sticker, then I should be able to have one saying "you're a ****ing ****!" I can't see that one being allowed.There's a VW EuroVan in my community with liberal bumperstickers covering almost every inch of its front and back. One of them says "If you can read this and you voted for Bush - "You're a F***** A******!!!!" It's a pretty big bumpersticker, very easily read by anyone of any age. He's also got half a dozen or so stickers of drawings nude women in some flat out X-rated poses. Nice, isn't it? We can't do a thing about it, either, because in Oregon, it's protected speech.

[Sauniere]

it's quite clear that people do not believe she should have received a ticket by a 74 to 26% margin, and they believe that the bumper sticker should have been protected by 1st amendment rights by a 72 to 28% margin

'nough said

[brainpan]

I don't know why anyone would want to turn their car into a political statement in the first place. There are plenty of crazy people who like to take their frustrations out on people's property, I would never seek to provoke them.

[burntgorilla]

There's a VW EuroVan in my community with liberal bumperstickers covering almost every inch of its front and back. One of them says "If you can read this and you voted for Bush - "You're a F***** A******!!!!" It's a pretty big bumpersticker, very easily read by anyone of any age. He's also got half a dozen or so stickers of drawings nude women in some flat out X-rated poses. Nice, isn't it? We can't do a thing about it, either, because in Oregon, it's protected speech.

Freedom of speech is a tricky thing, isn't it? I can agree with both arguments here. Though you should surely be able to get the pictures removed?

[LibertaRiaN]

That's funny in a twisted way. I have the feeling I got my last ticket (2 weeks ago) for pretty much the same reason (my stickers say "Is it 2008 yet?" and "I Never Thought I'd Miss Nixon"). The actual charge is operating a vehicle with an expired registration, but in a small town where every other pickup truck on the street with a flag in the window sports expired tags seemingly with impunity........well, I'm a bit suspicious.

[burntgorilla]

Solution: put up a flag and get away with what you want.