A First Amendment Question, Answered
Date: Friday, November 14 @ 08:56:34 UTC
Topic: detonate.net!


Commentary by Michael Smerconish of kwy1060

(11/14/03) After you pass by a speed trap, are you inclined to flash your headlights at oncoming traffic to give those drivers a warning?

Well, that’s usually what Harlie Bill Walker, a 75-year-old resident of Franklin, Tenn., would do.

Then one day, a police officer saw in his rearview mirror what Walker had done. So he pulled Mr. Walker over and cited him for $115 for “interfering with a police officer’s performance of his duty.”

Mr. Walker fought the ticket and asserted his First Amendment right to flash his headlights. And the court agreed.

Perhaps it's not exactly what framers of the Constitution had in mind 200+ years ago, but it's a pretty creative use of the First Amendment nonetheless.

And it's good news for the CB radio crowd that loves to warn about the presence of "smokeys."








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