Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Hissyspit

(45,788 posts)
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 09:11 PM Jan 2013

Appeals Court: Motorist Cannot be Stopped for Giving Police the Middle Finger

Source: Raw Story

Appeals court: Motorist cannot be stopped for giving police the middle finger

By Eric W. Dolan

Thursday, January 3, 2013 19:31 EST

A motorist cannot be stopped for “giving the finger” to a police officer, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

- snip -

The couple saw a police officer using a radar gun to catch speeding motorists at an intersection. John, who was a passenger in the car, stuck his arm outside the side window and “flipped the bird” over the car’s roof. The police officer then followed the couple to their son’s home and stopped them. John was arrested for disorderly conduct after other officers arrived as backup.

The officer who initially followed and stopped the couple said he did so because John appeared to be trying to get his attention by waving his middle finger. However, the court didn’t buy that argument.

“(T)he nearly universal recognition that this gesture is an insult deprives such an interpretation of reasonableness,” Circuit Judge Jon O. Newman wrote in the ruling (PDF). “This ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity. Surely no passenger planning some wrongful conduct toward another occupant of an automobile would call attention to himself by giving the finger to a police officer.”

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/03/appeals-court-motorist-cannot-be-stopped-for-giving-police-the-middle-finger

18 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Appeals Court: Motorist Cannot be Stopped for Giving Police the Middle Finger (Original Post) Hissyspit Jan 2013 OP
"...ancient gesture of insult ..." SunSeeker Jan 2013 #1
If you were being kidnapped.... jberryhill Jan 2013 #2
I would draw my SuperDuper 9MM and fire a few shots into the air. DollarBillHines Jan 2013 #5
Be safe, give them the thumbs up liberal N proud Jan 2013 #3
Rotate! Kolesar Jan 2013 #4
Very interesting... ReRe Jan 2013 #14
Colbert proved this 2 years ago! gvstn Jan 2013 #6
Yep!. . always ahead of the story. .n/t annabanana Jan 2013 #11
Misleading headline -- It should read "Motorist Cannot be LEGALLY Stopped for ..." AnotherMcIntosh Jan 2013 #7
EXACTLY!!! SkyDaddy7 Jan 2013 #18
When did trying to get someone's attention become disorderly conduct? A Simple Game Jan 2013 #8
Except if flipping off is declared to be aiding terrorism . . . caseymoz Jan 2013 #9
Next time he will be stopped for an equipment violation, WHEN CRABS ROAR Jan 2013 #10
Yea!!! supercats Jan 2013 #12
This goes along with the SC decision that says you can say "fuck you" to a cop Tempest Jan 2013 #13
OK. That doesn't mean that it's the greatest idea in the world, however (nt) Nye Bevan Jan 2013 #15
Why? Occulus Jan 2013 #17
Meh. It's not as impressive as the right to moon in Maryland struggle4progress Jan 2013 #16

liberal N proud

(60,302 posts)
3. Be safe, give them the thumbs up
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 09:19 PM
Jan 2013

It offers the same insult in some middle east cultures.

Thumbs up" traditionally translates as the foulest of gesticular insults in some Middle Eastern countries — the most straightforward interpretation is "Up yours, pal!" [7] The sign has a similarly pejorative meaning in parts of West Africa, South America, Iran, and Sardinia, according to Roger E. Axtell's book Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of Body Language Around the World."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumbs_signal

SkyDaddy7

(6,045 posts)
18. EXACTLY!!!
Fri Jan 4, 2013, 07:05 AM
Jan 2013

If you flip a cop off now they will still come after you they will simply do what cops do MAKE UP A DIFFERENT REASON! Cops can literally do almost anything they want especially if they are smart about how they report what they did. However, even when caught doing something unethical or even flat out illegal they rarely get punished & when they do most of the time they are allowed to resign & another law enforcement agency will hire them...You will rarely ever hear of a cop getting fired. That is unless the cop is a whistle blower then they will feel the full force of the "Law"!!

A Simple Game

(9,214 posts)
8. When did trying to get someone's attention become disorderly conduct?
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 10:07 PM
Jan 2013

Stupid cop couldn't come up with a better excuse?

caseymoz

(5,763 posts)
9. Except if flipping off is declared to be aiding terrorism . . .
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 10:44 PM
Jan 2013

. . . under the NDAA, in which case, the motorist and his passengers can disappear forever.

Hurray for freedom!

WHEN CRABS ROAR

(3,813 posts)
10. Next time he will be stopped for an equipment violation,
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 10:47 PM
Jan 2013

like a taillight out, that magically repairs itself, or for looking like a murder suspect.
Cops have many ways to play this game.

 

supercats

(429 posts)
12. Yea!!!
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 11:03 PM
Jan 2013

There is a little bit of our freedoms still in tact. Cops serve a valuable purpose but more times than not I believe they abuse their rights and privileges. Glad to see this ruling!

Tempest

(14,591 posts)
13. This goes along with the SC decision that says you can say "fuck you" to a cop
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 11:14 PM
Jan 2013

And it's protected speech.

struggle4progress

(118,041 posts)
16. Meh. It's not as impressive as the right to moon in Maryland
Fri Jan 4, 2013, 01:15 AM
Jan 2013

Mooning Deemed 'Disgusting' but No Crime in Md.

By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 4, 2006

Acquitting a Germantown man who exposed his buttocks during an argument with a neighbor, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday that mooning, while distasteful, is not illegal in Maryland ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010301509.html
Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Appeals Court: Motorist C...